Cornerstone Church of Knoxville

A couple of weeks ago my mom and I spent a few days in North Carolina.  While there we had a chance to drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was one of the most beautiful drives I think I’ve ever been on.  It was a bright sunny day and each twist and turn of the highway brought a new view of the mountains that seemed even more beautiful than the last.  Riding on the parkway reminded of one of my favorite quotes from John Piper.

  The life of the godly is not a straight line to glory, but they do get there.  The life of the godly is not an Interstate through Nebraska but a state road through the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee.  There are rockslides and precipices and dark mists and bears and slippery curves and hairpin turns that make you go backwards in order to go forward.  But all along this hazardous, twisted road that doesn’t let you see very far ahead, there are frequent signs that say “The best is yet to come.” And at the bottom right corner written with an unmistakable hand are the words, “As I live, says the Lord!”

I don’t know about your life, but mine has not been a smooth, straight course leading from one blessing directly to another.  There have been many twists and turns and times of going backwards when I was confident the way I needed to go was forward.  Can you relate?  Perhaps you are facing one of those setbacks today?  Maybe there’s a rockslide on your path and the way you were so certain of is now blocked, maybe there is a bear in your path that you have no way around, or maybe your path is covered by a dark mist and you can’t see where your next steps will lead.  There is one thing you can be certain of in all these setbacks of life.  God is not going to lead you off a cliff.  He’s leading you to glory!  To quote Piper again, “God is plotting for our joy.”  May this bring you hope and encouragement as you face setbacks in your life.  God is not finished with us yet.  The best is yet to come!