“Like a stream is the king’s heart in the hands of the Lord; wherever it pleases him, he directs it.” (Proverbs 21:1)
This passage
reminds me of when I was a child. I was a tomboy and was always climbing trees
and playing in the creek. One thing that I loved to do was put rocks or sticks
in the stream and watch how I could direct where the stream was to go. This
image can be seen as an example of how the Lord guides our hearts. He leads us
along the path to righteousness and even if he leads us toward rocky ground or
over steep cliffs, he is always with us, his hand is ever near, guiding us. But
when we are living in sin and don’t want to live our lives in the truth we can
see this as God interfering. We are annoyed when he places something in our
path to lead us to him and see it as an obstacle to our goals and desires and
we are determined to get around it or knock it down. Or maybe, we want to
follow Christ but only if it is easy. We want to gently and easily move toward
heaven and get frustrated when we are faced with obstacles. Who knows where the
Lord will lead us when we allow him to take charge but one thing is for sure,
he always leads us to holiness.
In scripture
we often hear about life-giving water. If we allow our hearts to be like a
stream that the Lord directs; then we will be life-giving water to those who
are placed in our lives. This life-giving water needs to be directed toward those
who are thirsty; those who continually seek things that are empty, just a
mirage. This life-giving water needs to go into the desert to set the captives free. Who in our life is the Lord leading us
to? It may be the hungry on the streets and we are called to feed them at the
soup kitchen with a heart of love and compassion. Maybe the Lord is directing
us to the sick or the lonely. I know my vocation, caring for children stricken
with cancer, is where the Lord has led me and I have embraced this but it is
not an easy path. It is full of many heartaches and much sorrow, yet it is also
filled with daily miracles, love, courage and hope. Maybe the people that the Lord is directing us
to are in our own family. Maybe a family member has strayed from the Church and
we are called to guide them back through our example of faithfulness and love.
And just maybe, it is our spouse who is being drawn to the Lord through our
love for the Lord and our perseverance through difficult times.
“For the unbelieving husband is made holy
through his wife.” (1 Corinthians 7:14)
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