Have you ever lost your way in life? Not in some major way. You’re just chugging along through life and then somehow you get the feeling that maybe, just maybe, you’re not where you’re meant to be. Things just don’t make sense the way they used to.   1. The Fog of War If you’ve ever had that nagging suspicion that things aren’t quite right in your life, then you're not alone. It’s something that we all experience from time to time. We don’t think about it, but in a very real sense, for most of us, life follows a pretty familiar, well–worn trail. We’re born, we go to school, we become adults, we marry, we have children, they go to school, they grow up … and eventually we die. I know that’s an over–simplification. And I know that a good many people don’t follow every step of that path … and I know there are many twists and turns and variations on that theme, but for most of us, that pretty much describes it. And along the way we go through times of great joy, times of great sadness and long periods of the mundane same old, same old. Our emotions go up and down. Our fortunes go up and down. But we’re born, we bring children into the world, we die. That’s the basic template on which the human race relies. So you’re following along that path and at some stage, perhaps, you encounter Jesus and you decide to walk the rest of the journey with Him – where He leads, according to His plans and purposes for your life. Some people find that notion pretty depressing. I used to, to tell you the truth. But these days it is singularly the most liberating thing about my life. To be able to live out the plans and purposes for my life, that God Himself dreamed up before time began – I have to tell you, it’s just unreal. But I, like the next person, sometimes get into those patches in life when I wonder – Am I in the right place? Am I doing what I was made to do? And is all the stuff going on around me making sense. I wonder … where are you at right now? In an up … in a down … in one of those long periods of the boring mundaneness of life? Same day after day. Are you in a place of contentment, knowing you’re on the right path … or are you kind of wondering where it’s all headed? In the army – I spent 10 years as a military officer – when we were training for war, they taught us about the concept, the idea of what’s called “the fog of war”. It’s this idea that when you’re fighting the battle, you’re enveloped in a kind of fog. Part of that fog is that you don’t have all the information you need about your enemy – how strong he is, how many troops and tanks he has, how well trained, what his morale is like, what his plans are, what his tactics are. Part of it is that your enemy deliberately tries to feed you misinformation to deceive you. Part of it is that you’re tired, exhausted often, afraid, your morale is down. Your troops – their morale is up and down. And then when the bullets start flying and the artillery shells start exploding around you – it’s like you’re in a fog, a stupor and making really good, well informed, rational decisions is extremely difficult. That’s what this idea – the fog of war – is all about. In a very real sense, we sometimes operate in a bit of a fog too. Our emotions are playing havoc. People are having a go and we don’t understand their motives and intentions. We don’t know if we can trust them. And God – what about Him? What exactly are His plans? Am I in the right place? Am I doing the things I was meant to be doing? Have I perhaps taken a wrong turn? And it’s in this fog that we can start questioning His faithfulness. It’s in this fog that we start second guessing God and ourselves. We’d like to think we have it all together. We’d like to think we know where life’s headed, but all too often, we either haven’t got a clue, or we though we did, but … we’re really not that sure any more. I was having coffee with a man who works for a large corporation – who thought he knew what his life was about, but his health was failing him and deep down he had a sneaking suspicion that God had a different plan – he just didn’t know what that plan was. Do you relate to some of that? There seems to be a gap between your present circumstances and what you think the future might be about. We’re in the middle of a series called “Following Jesus with Confidence” – and the reason we’re talking about this stuff today, is that when we’re enveloped in this fog – it’s hard to be confident. The thing about this fog is that it limits your field of vision – so it’s easy, really easy – to take a wrong step. But I believe that God wants us to have confidence in Him, even when we’re in the middle of this fog of war as I’ve called it. In fact, especially then. When you think about it, it’s when things are unclear that we really need God, because His field of vision is never, ever limited by anything. The first thing we need to know when we’re wandering through life in a bit of a fog, is that God is faithful. He’s not angry, He’s not disappointed with us – He’s like a loving father, keen to see His child learn, and keen to help His child through the fog. His love, in that fog, His faithfulness in that fog, is rock solid. King David had more enemies than most of us. He went through many trials in his life, and so many of the Psalms he wrote, he’s pouring his heart out to God in the midst of the fog of war. Psalm 86:1–7 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all day long. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my cry of supplication. In the day of my trouble I call on you, for you will answer me And towards the end of that Psalm, based on his past experiences, David concludes this – Psalm 86:14–17: O God, the insolent rise up against me; a band of ruffians seeks my life, and they do not set you before them. But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant; show me a sign of your favour, so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame, because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. I know there are people today going through one of those times in your life when it’s hard to follow Jesus with any confidence. And I know there are people today for whom such a time is just around the corner. Your God is merciful and gracious, He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. That’s just who He is – so if you know that you’ve turned your back on Him, turn back now, tell Him you’re sorry, ask Him to forgive you in Jesus’ name – and it’s a done deal. You’re forgiven. You stand before Him as clean and as pure as Jesus Himself. Because that’s why Jesus died for you. That’s why Jesus did what He did – to give you a fresh start with the slate wiped clean. And now as you draw close to Him, you can take each step with Him being completely sure that when you need to turn to the left or to the right, He’ll let you know. When you need to stop and wait a while or move a bit more quickly – He’ll let you know. That’s the deal. That’s His promise....

Released on 26 Sep 2021