Page 152 - Evidence of Things Unseen

with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is
to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the
revealing of the sons of God.

There is a purpose for every path and every experience our Shepherd leads us through.
He is probably more eager than we are ourselves to see us arrive at the destination before
us. Yet He bears long with us when we cry out for deliverance from our painful trials, for
He knows that there are no shortcuts to glory. He does not wish that we should fall short
of the glory of God in any respect.
I hear my Shepherd asking, “Will you simply follow Me? Will you take the course I set
before you, and not shrink back?” He promises to be with us at all times, and nothing can
separate us from His love. The overcomers in Christ are identified by the following simple
statement:

Revelation 14:4
These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been
purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.

I have had many expectations about what God would do at each place He has led me.
I have watched three different bodies of believers shrink back from the path of faith before
them when I had expected God to take each one into their promised inheritance. Things
have rarely turned out the way I thought they would. When I have thought I was nearing
the end of the path, there always seemed to be a further valley to travel through. Yet the
Shepherd guiding me knows what He is about. I am learning to rest under His watchful and
loving eye.