Some years ago I had the privilege of ministering to missionaries from across Europe who where serving under Evangelical Baptist Missions. The retreat took place in Wagrain, Austria; a beautiful town nestled amidst mountains in the region of Salzburg. It was famous for skiing, mountain biking, and for the fact that the author of the Christmas carol ‘Silent Night’ once lived there. Among the many memories I carried away from my time there was a comment that Dr. Paul Jackson made regarding something that had been told him by a seasoned missionary. The missionary reported, “Paul, I want to tell you that I have never deplaned and stepped onto foreign soil, but I have found that God got there first.”
What a wonderful thought, that in our walk through life God is always up ahead and a step in front of us (Ex. 13:21-22; Psalm 139:5). Our God is a “Go-Ahead-God!” By implication, life always comes to us through Him, and therefore we can be sure that whatever we face on a given day God has planned and provided for it. Like a good shepherd who goes ahead of the sheep to prepare the way and protect His sheep along the way, our God leads us through life’s experiences (John 10:4). For the Christian, all things have been prepared.
The truth of this is wonderfully pictured in Psalm 23:5. Here the eastern shepherd is pictured as entering a field [tableland] preparing it for the sheep and preparing the sheep for it. Anticipating the threats and the needs of the flock, the shepherd would use his staff as a spade and dig out any poisonous plants that might be there, putting them on rocks to dry and wither. Shepherds have been known to lose dozens of sheep through their eating poisonous grass. The shepherd would also use his rod and staff to kill any poisonous snakes in the vicinity, and in addition pour oil around the mouth of a viper’s nest as an extra precaution. Having prepared the field for the sheep the shepherd would proceed to prepare the sheep for the field by rubbing oil into their noses as a repellant to bugs and a foul smell to snakes. All this preparation took place so that the sheep could literally graze in the presence of their enemies. When the sheep entered that field to eat they, metaphorically speaking, sat down at a table prepared for them by the shepherd. Like the missionary in our opening illustration, when they entered that field they found out that the shepherd got there first.
Let us remember that for our every one step God has taken two! He is a “Go-Ahead-God” who has prepared for our every need. Remember our salvation was not left to chance but prepared before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:18-21)! Don’t forget that God has a storehouse of prepared mercies for our everyday needs (Psalm 31:19)! Know that heaven is a prepared place that awaits our arrival (John 14:1-6)! Don’t you love it? The God of the bible is not a God of chance or circumstance: everything He does He does with premeditation and preparation.
As you step forward in life, carry the truth that you are always marching toward a God-prepared future.