Note on Psalm 32:8

"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye" (Psa.32:8).

There comes a happening in the life which disrupts the orderly course of events and nothing is ever the same again. And the immediate reaction is "Why has God permitted this?" It seemed so unnecessary, perhaps bringing grief and pain. Things may not have been perfect, but how much better if God had left them alone! And in all such reasoning we are forgetting that God is fashioning and directing all our lives for His purpose, controlling and ruling our affairs and circumstances to create in each one of us just that heart and character which will fit us for the place in His creation which we are due to occupy at the end of our earthly pilgrimage. He knows, so much better than do we, the extent to which we, each one, has become transformed into His likeness and so be ready for the call to higher service. He knows, so much better than do we, what in the way of our experiences and of other influences are necessary to us that we might be fully transformed. And all the time He is the guide and instructor. He knows what we need and He knows the way. It is for us to watch diligently and perceive His leading and follow His guidance. He is a true teacher and a sure guide; as He led Israel through the wilderness and brought them safely at last to the Promised Land, so will He surely do with us. If He ushers us outside the door and closes it for the last time, He will open another door into which He would have us enter. If He closes one book because it is complete He will open another that we may begin afresh. And all the time He leads, like the guiding cloud in the daytime and the pillar of fire by night, His eye always upon us that we stumble not or miss the way, until at the last we cross the final boundary and are safely home.

There is so much we do not know, about ourselves and each other, so many reasons why what seems to be utter disaster is after all a manifestation of God’s love and care for His children. "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deut.33:27) If He takes one of His own into those everlasting arms it is because He loves that one and knows what is best. And for we who remain there is the consciousness that He leads, that we might follow; He instructs, that we might learn; His eye is upon us, that we might realise His watch‑care over all our ways and is with us in all the circumstances of life, giving guidance in our perplexity, and strength for our weakness, and that peace of mind which comes from knowing that His hand is in control of all our affairs and will bring them forth for good, all the time that we rest them in Him.

AOH