All the Paths of the LORD

Good morning, Church! As you prepare for worship this morning, I want to encourage you to pause for a minute, close your eyes, and meditate on this thought: “All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies” (Psalm 25:10, ESV). This truth reminds me that as long as I am living in righteousness with God, his covenantal love will lead me everywhere I go. That’s true on the easy path and the hard path, in the daylight and in the dark, when I’m full and when I’m empty, whether I’m alone or surrounded by friends—or even by enemies. The Lord is with me always.

This also reminds me that God never makes mistakes as he guides us through this life. He doesn’t forget us. He doesn’t ignore us. He doesn’t set us aside and squeeze us into his schedule after all else is done and it’s convenient. We see this often in the life and ministry of Jesus: over and over again he stops what he’s doing in order to meet another immediate need. Once Jesus became well-known, people were constantly trying to get his attention, and everybody’s need was important to the Lord.

This morning, we’ll read an episode from Mark 6 where a father begs Jesus to come and heal his dying daughter, and Jesus agrees. But along the way to the man’s house, Jesus stops to address another need, even though it would have seemed to almost everyone present to be less important and less immediate. And as he delayed, the little girl died. It sure seemed like a mistake, but Jesus’ words and actions point to a more magnificent truth. And that’s part of what we’ll talk about this morning.

—Patrick Barber