Maybe it’s time to check the map; make sure we’re headed in the right direction. Going through fire, flood, our ideals being trampled, a lot of things to grieve over, I made up a little rhyme to get me through the hard days: “Father help me with my fear, lend me courage and good cheer.”
In the days before I had The Urantia Book (The UB), I found inspiration in the King James Version of the Bible, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.”
I was impressed with this wise spiritual guidance when I discovered it in the Book of Isaiah. “Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it.” (Isaiah 30: 20-21)
Such a stirring promise! We could know, experience, and be comforted by God in the midst of our struggles. I also discovered it in Jeremiah 6:16, “This is what the Lord says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Later, I saw the same wisdom attributed to the Spirit of Truth when I read in The UB, “Do not be troubled with doubts of failure or by perplexing confusion, do not falter and question your status and standing, for in every dark hour, at every crossroad in the forward struggle, the Spirit of Truth will always speak, saying, "This is the way." (34:7.8)
I wondered how did Isaiah, whose era was 740 to 681 BC, know the Spirit of Truth’s encouraging words? The Spirit was bestowed at Pentecost after the Crucifixion 700 years later (30 AD)! He was making prophecy, telling an eternal truth.
Jesus quoted it when he spoke to John privately about the ancient story of Job: “Job was ever ready to admit that God is righteous, but he longed for some soul-satisfying revelation of the personal character of the Eternal. And that is our mission on earth. No more shall suffering mortals be denied the comfort of knowing the love of God and understanding the mercy of the Father in heaven. While the speech of God spoken from the whirlwind was a majestic concept for the day of its utterance, you have already learned that the Father does not thus reveal himself, but rather that he speaks within the human heart as a still, small voice, saying, 'This is the way; walk therein.'” (148:6.10)
The UB reminds us how all these ministries are co-ordinated. “Thought Adjusters appear to come and go quite independent of any and all other spiritual presences; they seem to function in accordance with universe laws quite apart from those which govern and control the performances of all other spirit influences. But regardless of such apparent independence, long-range observation unquestionably discloses that they function in the human mind in perfect synchrony and co-ordination with all other spirit ministries, including adjutant mind-spirits, Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth, and other influences.” (108:4.3)
Notice how Jesus clarifies the import and relevance of the saying, though known to us first as the prophet Isaiah’s verse, then famously attributed to the Spirit of Truth in another The UB passage, finally revealed as the voice of the Father speaking to us from within our hearts. We are guided, watched over, cared for, the Lord is my shepherd—if I was hoping for a miracle of grace and mercy, here it is!
