Reflections on “He Leadeth Me” production
He Leadeth Me (Bandcamp)
https://jerrypaladino.bandcamp.com/track/he-leadeth-me
Me Guía Él (Bandcamp)
https://jerrypaladino.bandcamp.com/track/me-gu-a-l
It was great getting to finish the production of this inspiring hymn this month, in both English and Spanish. Like most hymns, it speaks loudly of His faithfulness to bring us through everything we encounter in our earthly experience. In some ways it’s very simplistic, but that leaves room to read the subtle nuances into all that happened over the years. I turned over my life, my will, and my entire future to Him 46 years ago, a decision I have NEVER regretted. And I never stop marveling at His faithful presence even when I did not seem to see Him in action on my behalf…”He was there all the time” as one song says…
Producing and singing this song gave me yet another chance to reflect on His faithfulness toward me and mine over the years. It’s of course easier to look back down the 66 years journey of my life, and see how He led so faithfully every step of the way. Soeren Kirkergaard said it well: “Life can only be understood backwards: but must be lived forwards.”
You always read about the ‘yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death’ moments, the ‘green pastures’ situations, and the variety of other places we end up in which the Bible describes so picturesquely — and, yep, He’s been there through it all. As I reflected on the words of this hymn, I was getting a bit of a more detailed overview on how He’s operated in my life over the years of our relationship:
Sure, He’s leading, ALL the time…but what about when I don’t follow? — When He sends me in one direction, but like Jonah or others, I choose to go in another? Is He still somehow leading in all of that? I realize that there’s a beautiful blending of leading and being led, a mixture of divine guidance with free human will and choices involved in the whole process that’s hard to describe … Maybe it’s something like a GPS, that gives you the general direction with a desired destination in mind, but when you choose to go and try another way, it pops up and begins to readjust your overall journey, pointing out creative new ways to get to your final destination from whatever point you are currently at. We may end up in ‘death valley’ for a bit, due sometimes to wrong choices and turns or some willful decisions, but if we turn our eyes back to Him, our spiritual GPS, He readjusts our course, ready to lead us to the correct final destination from WHEREVER we are at.
I think THAT might be closer to what goes on, than the more simplistic explanation that He is actually leading us to each and every one of these places without our participation. For sure, when we follow where He leads, we may at times end up going through some scary areas, and find ourselves in hairy situations; but we can trust that it will all end well, because He’s leading. At other times we may be where were are at because of our own choices decisions or willfulness, yet He’s still ‘leading us’ because He’s out in front faithfully sending His signal that points to the desired final destination -just like that GPS that keeps speaking to us, whether we choose to listen to or ignore his/her advice or not. (My GPS has a female voice, but still never nags or pressures, the picture of patience.)
It’s just so beautiful for me to now look back and clearly see how He has indeed been leading me my whole life, in spite of some dubious directions I went in, and even when I wasn’t seeing it or understanding what I was going through. And how even if I decided at times to “go it alone” without checking with Him, He still managed to get me to a good place in the end. I’m now more toward the final stretch of my earthly travels (with possibly only 25–30 years to go), yet I can’t help but trust that He who has been with me faithfully all these years will still be with me till “the end of my journey.” I’ll continue to trust Him for me and mine! He hasn’t failed so far…
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