A Golden Promise

He knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.

Job 23:10

Horses plodded along the dusty China road under a hot noon sun, pulling a heavy wagon as Peter, a missionary, brought supplies and money to his fellow missionaries in Yucheng. Before leaving the office that morning, he and his coworkers had prayed, and as they finished, he saw a plaque above the door that read, “He knows the way that I take.” As Peter rode along, the words rolled over and over in his thoughts.

At the next village he stopped to water the horses and heard there were bandits on that road. Peter jumped into his wagon and started away from the village. You know the way that I take, Lord. Suddenly he heard steps behind him, and in moments he had been captured by bandits who took everything he had. Amazingly, they let him keep the wagon and horses and told him to hurry to the next village or they would shoot him. When he arrived, the villagers opened its gates but wouldn’t let him stay. They knew the whole town faced danger if they harbored a foreigner. They led Peter to the far gate and told him to go.

As he headed down the road, the bandits again pursued him. The road turned uphill, and Peter’s horses were about to give out. In utter dependence and trust, he cried out, “Oh God, help me now, for you know the way I take!”

Suddenly another group of riders poured over the top of the hill. But instead of bandits, Peter saw it was government cavalry. He was safe! God did know Peter’s path and the bandits that were on it. He met Peter’s need in a way that built this missionary’s faith and refined it like gold.

Is your path strewn with obstacles or losses that try your faith? No matter where you are going, God knows, and he is with you to the ends of the earth.

All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who knows the way that I take. Thank you that when I have been tested, I will come forth as gold. I praise you for your faithfulness that reaches to the skies and all around the world. Amen.

God is above, presiding; beneath, sustaining; within, filling.

Hildebert Of Lavardin(ca. 1056–1133), French medieval poet