Billy
Sunday coined the phrase “The sawdust trail.” He had a meeting in Oregon at one
point in his career as an evangelist where he discovered that there was a large
amount of what is now called “Timber toppers.” He found out that part of their
job consisted of finding and marking trees to be cut down. On their search for
these trees they would often have to walk a good distance from where they
started and it would be quite common to lose their way unless they marked their
path. So it became a common practice to mark a trail. To make this work they
would bring a gunny sack filled with sawdust, along their trek they would take
out a handful of sawdust and let it sift through their hand as they walked
along. Eventually they marked their last tree, and it’s been said that they
would stop and say to themselves, “If I could just find that sawdust trail,
I’ll find my way home.”
Sunday
would build permanent tabernacles out of timber. To keep the dust from rising
he would have the floors covered with sawdust. When he offered the invitation,
he would refer to the aisle as the sawdust trail saying,”If you’ll just hit
that sawdust trail you’ll find your way home.” (Dr. Panosian, CH602, 03/16/04)
When
we know for a fact where we're headed we are able to reach our destination much
easier than if we were unsure of our path. Jesus left a sawdust trail for us to
travel 2000 years ago. When we find that trail, the gospel, we find Him. And
then we know from that point on not only have we the assurance of eternal life
but that, after we accept Him as our Savior, we are sealed or kept by the Holy
Spirit until that day when we meet Jesus face-to-face (Eph. 1:13; 4:30). Being
sealed by the Holy Spirit means that we are kept safe in the arms of our Lord.
It means that we do not have to worry about what's going to happen to us
tomorrow because if we die today we know that we shall be with Him. For Paul
tells us that "to be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord"
(2 Cor. 5:8). So while we are on this earth, my friend, do not hold your arms
up in defeat and despair and think the only one you can turn to for answers is
yourself. Thank the Lord above that we cannot only turn to Him but that He has the answers we need
and is ready to provide them as we ask (Matt. 6:8; 7:7).
Many
things need to be evident to us in our knowledge of what we need. But also we
need to have confidence in the One to Whom we are turning. Think for a second
if you will about your own life in the past. There may have been one major
decision that comes to mind. Think on that! What was the outcome? Were you
pleased with the result? Did you make a final decision? Whether you made a final
decision or you just were not pleased with the result, the fact, more than
likely, remains that you either were not confident or did not know all the
facts of which you needed to know. There may be times in your life right now
when you "can't see the forest because of the trees." You can't seem
to find the answer to a difficult time you're going through because you're so
focused on the difficulty, confusion, pain, etc. that you’re unable to conceive
the idea that Jesus is able and can lead
you through it. As a soldier of the cross you are expected to follow Christ willingly.
He tells us that we are to take up our cross and follow Him. Your cross
involves a life of persecution, trials, tribulations, etc. and is meant to be
born on your shoulders by the help of the Holy Spirit. That means you're going
to have to carry your cross on days when you feel like it and days when you do
not feel like it. Paul says, "Be not weary in well doing, for in due
season ye shall reap if ye faint not." (Gal. 6:9). Don’t give up! Don’t
give in! That’s what the apostle is telling us. The Preacher, King Solomon,
said, “The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.” The Lord has given us a
mind to think, hands to do, feet to go, eyes to see, ears to hear and a mouth
to speak. Because of these gifts we not only can but are expected to make
decisions for ourselves and accomplish tasks on our own. I, myself, know that
when situations get tough and pain and plain difficulty rears their ugly heads,
my desires tend to want to throw everything on the Lord and have Him snap His
fingers and make everything better. But that's not how it works. I must remain
strong and be confident in the promises which He has given me and endure that
which He has brought my way. Two comments should encourage you as you continue
for Christ. One, we’re told in 1 Cor. 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you
but such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it.” Remember, the Lord will never give
you more than you can handle. That with which we are faced with will never be
too much as a child of the King. “But the length of time I’ve had to deal with
this has just been more than anyone can handle,” you might say. And as accurate
as that statement may seem in its particular context, I’d like to remind you,
you’re not just anyone, you’re someone. If you are a child of God you are
someone special who has what the world does not, the Holy Spirit. In John
14:26, after telling His disciples about His departure Jesus says, “But the Comforter, which
is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send
in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” The Holy Spirit is with
us to give us special insight as we follow our Savior in obedience; He is here
to strengthen us as the angels did for Jesus after 40 days in the wilderness;
He is here to encourage us and help us focus as God did for David in the city
of Ziklag in 1 Sam. 30:6; and, among many other things, He’s here to give us
wisdom as we seek to serve (James 1:5). A second comment of encouragement is
that not only are we not given more than we can handle with the Spirit as our
Captain but we have the privilege and joy of taking these hardships we face and
enduring them for God’s glory. In other words, we have the opportunity to take
our present trial and show God that we love Him. By doing so, we are acting as
faithful ambassadors for the Prince of Peace (2 Cor. 5:20).You might beg the
question, in some form, “Why should I serve a God who allows sin into the
world?” One major reason is to test us, as in Judges 3:4, when God let
many of the heathen nations test the devotion of Israel toward Him. He wants to
test us that we, in turn, would show Him that we love Him by how we deal with
our difficulties by the assistance of the Holy Spirit. The trials that are
brought about because of the sin that is in the world are also to be thorns in
our flesh that steer us to God leading us to rely upon Him and not our own
strength (Prov. 3:5&6). The answers we need are found in the promises of
our eternal Father.
These
promises are found coming from the mouth of Isaiah in Isaiah 41:10, " Fear
thou not; for I am with thee: be not
dismayed; for I am thy God: I will
strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness." We find the promises of God to us throughout the Old
Testament as well as the new. We see in Psalm 18 how God “sticks closer to us
than a brother” or Jeremiah 33:3 He will show us mighty things if we will but
seek His face. In 2 Samuel 22:2 we see how David refers to Jehovah as his
refuge, a rock, and a place to hide. Promises like these are also given in the
New Testament concerning how God is our refuge and how He is ready to help us
in time of need (Heb. 4:15). We have to be confident, knowing our God is an awesome
God and that He can do wonders and miracles if we expect Him to help us in our
distress. I say that to you not because God is lacking in any way, but, if we
do not fully trust Him we will not call on Him and will not fully believe He
can do amazing things. If you believe these truths and act, believing
God is all–powerful, struggles, like Paul the apostle’s (2 Cor. 12:7–10), will
be used to impact many for God’s glory! Persevering for Christ can be a life of
fulfillment and joy but only if you believe, knowing God is the great I Am.
Because knowing is half the battle.
