He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
ISAIAH 40:11
We do need gentle leading, don’t we? How wise our Good Shepherd is! He doesn’t push us along steep slopes where we would stumble and fall. Rather, He leads us where the footing is softer, beside quiet waters and along the right paths.
Sometimes we get frustrated and impatient with God. We think we know where He wants to take us. Our destination is there in the distance, drawing our gaze like a high mountain peak, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any closer. Oh, we are walking and walking and walking, but it seems like the Lord is leading us back and forth, back and forth over the same ground again and again, rather than taking us directly to the goal. If you think God is slow to fulfill His purposes for you, remember how long Abraham and Sarah waited for Isaac!
We may be missing the fact that those paths we’re tramping back and forth are switchbacks—that with every turn in the road, we are gaining elevation, getting closer to our goal. It may be that we don’t understand just how steep the “direct route” would be or how risky.
Our impatience does nothing for us. God’s timing is simply not the same as ours. We must trust that He has a purpose to His pacing. David wisely wrote, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground” (Psalm 143:10).
The Lord is our Shepherd, and we can trust Him to lead us.