In shady green pastures, so rich and so sweet, God leads His dear children along;
Where the water's cool flow bathes the weary one's feet,
God leads His dear children along.
Some thru the waters, some thru the flood,
Some thru the fire, but all thru the blood;
Some thru great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season, and all the day long.
This song was written by George Young, a carpenter. Him and his wife dedicated their lives to serving God and going where He would lead them. They sometimes would travel from church to church preaching the gospel in revival services. Sometimes their finances were tight, but Mrs. Young would say, "We never went hungry!" She said we didn't have many worldly goods, but we always had much of Jesus.
They finally had saved enough to buy a small piece of land where George built them a little cottage. While they were away on a ministry trip, a person who had been offended by George's preaching set the house on fire. When they returned all they found were a heap of ashes.
While standing there they recounted all their wonderful possessions that fire could never destroy - their family, their relationship with Christ, their eternal home.
That is when the words for this song came to his mind.
Years later, a preacher was trying to find George's widow. He found her in a small town in Kansas where she was living in a run-down Poor House.
She told the preacher that one day God took her husband home and how much she missed him because they had served the Lord together.
She said, "I wondered where God would lead me after my husband's death". She said she was so thankful that He bought her to this place. About every month she said someone new comes to spend the rest of their days in this place and so many of them don't know Jesus. She told him she was having a great time introducing them to Jesus! "Isn't it wonderful how God leads?"
At different times in our life, we didn't always understand why God was leading us to certain places or closing doors and opening other doors. And sometimes we didn't understand why God bought trials into our life. I have to admit that sometimes my faith would waver.
But to have that faith that no matter what happens or wherever God leads, He loves me and is in control.
Since Jerry's homegoing, I have struggled with making decisions and trying to figure out where I need to be. Pray that my heart will always be open to God's leading.
Psalm 23:2
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
