choices

We talked in church today about the choices that God brings to us sometimes, and how confusing it can be when he seems to close a direction that is a good one. For our church it is our building program. The leaders of the church realized that to continue to move forward with that vision in light of the escalating costs would be to enslave the next generation of the church to a debt that wasn't justifiable.

Toward the end of the service we sang a familiar old hymn, one which I've always loved. But I was particularly struck today by the profundity of this song as a prayer during times of decision, especially difficult decisions where every option on the table seems to be a good one...

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that thou art.

thou my best thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, And thou my true Word;

I ever with thee, and thou with me, Lord;

thou my great Father, I thy true son;

thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,

thou mine inheritance, now and always:

thou and thou only, first in my heart,

High King of heaven, my Treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,

May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Son!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

We all end up in these moments of decision. And trying to unravel our emotions and desires and passions and fears to think and feel clearly for even a moment can seem overwhelming, and frightening, and impossible. But for me, at the end of the day, what matters most is that my family and I are following him wherever he leads, whether that's through storms or fire or merely into the uncertain future that comes when he says, "Arise and follow me." I think the line that meant most to me today was, "naught be all else to me save that thou art." He exists, and that is the most important thing in these decisions. I can trust him, and follow him, wherever it is he's leading.