When we used to live in Bakersfield, California, both Myrna and I had to deal with the Tule Fog from time to time. It is a fog that usually forms in the late fall in the San Joaquin Valley. When the Tule fog hits visibility can be treacherous to drive in, varying from 10 feet to a few feet, to near zero. I remember times where I had to hang my head out the window just to see a little bit of what was ahead on the road. Needless to say, it causes a lot of accidents.
Times in our lives can get pretty foggy too, where it is difficult to see what is ahead for us in respect to God’s will. For times like these when they hit, here is a poem and two passages of Scriptures I have clung to, especially when discerning God’s direction. The good part to all of this is that just as fog eventually dissipates, so do the circumstances that sometimes keep us from seeing what God has been up to the whole time while straining to see Him.
Fogged In!
(J. Danson Smith, rbk)
The road is fogged in, my Lord’s will seem hidden,
And further progress for the time is stayed.
But in good time God will again be bidden,
Meantime I will not be afraid.
Then came the night while restlessly sleeping,
A vision appeared, and my Lord said, “Prepare to move!”
So, once again in God’s good keeping,
I stepped forth, His faithfulness to prove.
No human voice conveyed a word of leading;
No human hand was sent my way to guide;
No human heart fully knew my depth of needing,
Or could assist my steps to decide.
And so, without others to appeal,
Assuredly now I began only to seek His will.
In response God began to reveal,
The purpose for which I was to fulfill.
Perhaps you are waiting too for His leading,
Your heart longs like mine did to know.
Rest in God, for His ear has heard you pleading.
The next steps He will surely show.
And as He does, don’t forget.
He knows what He is doing,
From early morning to sunset,
Always arranging and planning.
So, pray, read His Word, be ready to go,
The fog is moving and clearing.
And what seemed so longingly slow,
Will soon bring an end to your wanting and waiting.
Deuteronomy 31:8 The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.