[A free PDF of the lead sheet for this song is available here.]
Through Moses, God delivered the children of Israel
From their Egyptian captivity,
And He safely guided them through the wilderness
Towards the Promised Land.
But, stubborn and rebellious, they sometimes wandered needlessly;
Yet God never sleeps, and He stayed close by,
Ready to forgive when they returned to Him in faith.
Through Jesus, God delivers all of us who believe
From our captivity by sin and death,
And He safely guides us through this earthly life
Towards our heavenly home.
But, stubborn and rebellious, we sometimes wander needlessly;
Yet God never sleeps, and He stays close by,
Ready to forgive when we return to Him in faith.
About This Song:
I failed to record this song at the time I wrote it or in the years between then and now, but in sitting around playing it to myself the past week or two I decided to make a quick, very rough recording in the hopes it will give you a better feel for the song than through the lyrics alone. You may listen to it here.
I dedicated this song to my pastor at the time, Rand Forder. If anyone happens to know Rand’s whereabouts now, please let me know. He was a great guy and a real inspiration, even though I doubt that his Snoopy sermon illustrations affected this song in any way.
If the Children of Israel had obeyed God instead of turning their faces from him so often, they could’ve made their trip from Egypt to the Promised Land in a LOT less time than forty years. Less than one year, I’ve heard, but I don’t recall the specific estimate.
Have you ever tried to go somewhere with a strong-willed child under tow? Took a lot longer than it should have, didn’t it?
The Children of Israel tried God’s patience more than once, yet He was faithful to fulfill His promise of deliverance from slavery.
I don’t know about you, but I’m sure I try God’s patience far too often. He’s trying to lead me on a path I can’t see. If I just trust Him, it’s a sure way–the only sure way–to go. But I like to be in control–or at least to believe I am. I like things the way I like them. I want to know God’s path ahead of time so I can decide whether His plan is really that much better–or that much more to my liking–than mine.
Sounds pretty self-centered and precarious, don’t you think?
But God stays close by, just as He always has, ready to forgive and to put me on the right path again as soon as I admit my sin and seek His forgiveness. He may have to put me on an alternate route from the one He’d originally planned, but He sees that I’m still going to get there. “There” may not be where I wanted to go, but where He wants me to be. If I’m to trust Him fully, I also need to trust that He knows my destination a lot better than I do.
What about you? Are you pursuing your own path and wandering in the wilderness? Or are you willing to let God do the directing?
I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.
I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.
Best regards,
Roger
Links you might be interested in:
As I Come Singing. . . 