All the Way My Savior Leads Me

"But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ-yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:7-11

I recently reached it-Psalm 150. Day 150. The half-way point. The "hump," if you will.

And now before me lies the second half of my YAV year.

And so with a big page turn, I returned to the beginning of Psalms, where by the time I finish the book this second time through, it will be almost time to go home. A big turn in my Bible, a big turn in the book of my life.

And I found myself once again face to face with Psalm 1, with new eyes, and a new spirit. And so I reflect on the past half year and look to the year ahead.

I'm gonna be completely honest with you. This year has been more challenging than I ever imagined it would be. It has been downright terrifying at points. It has been filled with the unexpected, the unknown, and a lot of tears. It has at times been discouraging, overwhelming, and frightening. It has required me to become a completely new person, and I seem to keep putting up a fight against that! It has involved being constantly broken down and rebuilt up in the image of Christ. It has been painful. My faith is being refined, my faith, of more worth than gold, is being refined in the fire of this new land. And not only am I finding it to be true, I'm finding it to be the only thing I have. 

But far, far greater than the challenges have been the blessings. The friendships made, the bonds developed, are some of the strongest I have ever known. I can't believe how abundantly He has provided for me here the chance to share in a wealth of rich and precious relationships. The opportunities I am having are opportunities I would have never imagined! The memories made so far, the love I have been shown, and the opportunities I have had to love, are beautiful and ever constant. Mostly, the ways in which I have seen the living power of the Gospel manifested in people's lives, the ways the Gospel is becoming real to me, are almost too great to know how to recount.

It has been a year of immeasurable change. I look back at the beginning of the year, which feels approximately 3 years ago, and I see how far He has led me, from myself, to myself, and ultimately, closer and closer and closer to Him. I can't believe how much He has been teaching me.

And oh my goodness how I have GROWN! I have been stretched beyond what I ever expected, and have found myself intact only in Christ. I have learned so many lessons, more than I can even keep up with. Boy, am I being remade, remolded, reshaped-hopefully more into the image of Christ.

When it comes down to it, and you strip it all away, this year is about drawing closer to the power of the risen Lord.  Paul writes, "I want to know Christ!" My spirit resonates with this cry- God, I want to know You and make You known! I have been floored time and time again to find that it is only by Christ's strength that I can stand again. My weakness, so readily apparent, allows God to make His strength that much more apparent to me! For His power is made perfect in weakness-my goodness, does that seem to sum up this year for me!

I have never been more reliant on the power of Christ to get me through each and every day, to rescue me from the misery of self-absorption and anxiety, to put the chaos of this life into perspective. I cling to His hand every day. I hunger for His word, I can't get through the day unless I spend time in it. And He has NEVER let me down-for He is ALWAYS faithful. What more important thing in life is there but to draw closer in relationship to Jesus Christ? This year has forced me to confront and rely on my Creator more than I ever have- and nothing can replace that. Nothing is more valuable than that. What new trials can I encounter that He has not already intended for His glory? What people can I meet that He has not called me to love? Where can I go from His spirit?  In the midst of my fear and the anxieties that plague me, God never fails to uplift me by His right hand.

He WILL lead me all the way. He has led me this far. "The Lord WILL fulfill His purpose for me," I declare, "and He will sustain me all the way through." It has been an unbelievable journey-the journey of falling deeper in love with Jesus. 

Though the road ahead is entirely unknown and overwhelming to me at times, it is IN HIS HANDS. There is nowhere I can go where He has not already gone before me. And so I go boldly ahead, and declare that God has the victory in the rest of this year, that the victory is won!

Here's to the rest of my time, that I may know Christ and make Him known. Here's to the rest of the road.


All the way my Savior leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me,
Cheers each winding path I tread;
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living Bread.
Though my weary steps may falter,
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me
O the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way.

-written in 1875 by Fanny J. Crosby (1820-1915) to a tune written by the Baptist minister Dr. Robert Lowry