When Battered By Trials

Lead Me Lord
by Gary Valenciano

Lead me Lord, lead me by the hand
And make me face the rising sun
Comfort me through all the pain
That life may bring
There's no other hope
That I can lean upon

Chorus:
Lead me Lord
Lead me all my life
Walk by me, walk by me across
The lonely road that I may face
Take my arms and let your hand
Show me the way
Show the way to live inside your heart
All my days, all my life

Refrain:
You are my light
You're the lamp upon my feet
All the time my Lord
I need You there
You are my light
I (just) cannot live alone
Let me stay
By Your guiding love
All through my life
 
Repeat Chorus.
Repeat Refrain.

You are my light
You're the lamp upon my feet
All the time my Lord
I need You there
You are my light
I (just) cannot live alone
Let me stay
By Your guiding love
All through my life
All through my days
Lead me, Oh Lord
Lead me Lord

 There are times when we feel so strong. These are the times when it seems everything falls according to our plans. These are also the times when we think of ourselves as brave warriors ready to face any kind of battle, come what may.

I remember when I was a young Christian back then, when I have not experienced yet such great temptations, enormous defeats, multitude of unseen inner-self battles, and a number of painful betrayals. As young as I was, I thought life was so easy.

On the other hand, life is not so "pleasurable" as it seemed. There are times when God would let you feel pain, in order to remind you that you can always call upon Him for He is always at your side. There are times when you would encounter hurtful defeats, in order to remind you that the help comes from the Lord - the maker of heaven and earth. There are times when you would feel that you were abandoned and betrayed, in order for you not to build your world around people (or a person), instead build your world around God who knows you better than you know yourself - and He understands how you feel. There are times when all is left is to entrust everything up to God, in order to remind you not to lean on your own understanding, instead let go and let God help you. There are times when you experience a death of a loved one, in order to remind you that life is temporary and is fleeting so fast.

My friend, the Bible says:

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
   and his ears are attentive to their cry;
but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
   to blot out their name from the earth.

 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
   he delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
   and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 
~Psalm 34:15-18

Let God lead you, especially when times come that you don't understand at all what's happening around you, and inside you. God will hear you, for He is a loving and just God.

© 2011 Erickson Ibana