The God who goes before you

Today I'm remembering a beautiful story that unfolded between three friends around an impulsive gift of earrings two years ago. It's worth reading again: https://mmuser.blogspot.com/2020/03/surprise-in-mail-at-just-right-time.html My friend in Australia is wearing those earrings again today as she remembers her 13 y.o. son, who died two years ago today. I'm also wearing a pair of "Nozomi" earrings as I share her grief. Nozomi's tagline is "beauty in brokenness." I love the symbolism here and that we can be close through these earrings, despite the distance.

Yesterday, in a completely different set of emotional events, I was reminded that God is the God who goes before us. So far this year I've needed to be reminded of this verse from Deuteronomy 31 repeatedly:

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed (v 8).

God is indeed one who goes before us, who prepares the way. I often pray this verse as my husband and I start our days:

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10 NIV).

Reflecting on that theme in scripture just now...God went before the Israelites in the desert with a pillar of cloud and fire for forty years, and then, as they prepared to cross the Jordan River to occupy the land God had promised them, he reassured them he was preparing a new land for them.

What a great thought to keep a hold of in the midst of doing daily life: God prepares the way for us. He's not an absent spectator. Later, in the New Testament, we're told that Jesus is going ahead of us into heaven to prepare a place for us there too. Also a great truth to regularly remember, especially as we face unknown and uncertain future events  As we work towards spending several weeks in other people’s homes and out of our usual routines mid-year, this will be an important truth for the Marshalls to remember.