Every mile of your journey was ordained in love, and the very trouble with the drainage hose became a stage for the display of His wisdom, teaching your hands to repair what might have been a vexation, and turning a small trial into a fresh witness of His care. He who covered you with His feathers and gave His angels charge over you on the road is the same Lord who watches over the least of our daily affairs; the shelter of the Most High is not a roof for great storms only, but a shadow for every hour of need. Rest in this, and let your praise rise with the morning.
For the one you bring before the throne, the same everlasting arms are stretched out still. There is no journey so short but it lies all within the circle of His providence; He knows every turning of the way, and the winds and the wheels are under His command. Commit the traveller to that faithful Captain who has arranged the end from the beginning, and be not anxious, what seems a common road is, to faith, a highway paved by the King’s own hand, where no lion can go up. Praying for safety is a holy instinct, for we dare not venture upon the least portion of life without first seeking Divine protection; yet having sought it, we may sing as we send them forth, for the man who rests in God is wonderfully shielded.
There is, however, a deeper journey that concerns every soul, the road that leads back to the Father’s house. The same voice that bids us travel safely through this world cries, “Return, return!” to those who are far from home. If the one for whom you intercede, or even you yourself, have wandered, let not another sun go down without answering that call. Life’s brevity and the uncertainty of the morrow make every delay a hazard; you cannot be safe too soon. Safety for the body is a mercy, but safety for the soul is a necessity, and that shelter is found alone in Jesus Christ. Tell the prodigal that the Father waits with open arms; the road is open, the signpost is clear: “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” Trust Christ implicitly, sincerely, and then, whether on the highway or at home, in the morning’s travel or the evening’s rest, you shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. May the Lord bless the going out and the coming in, and grant you both at last to arrive in peace at the city where storms never rise and travellers never part.