I have read this verse over and over during devotionals. I have meditated on it and I kept coming back to the same question. Why is the voice behind me? After all, in the well-known “Footprints” poem, Jesus picks up the person hurting and carries them. I finally got an answer to my question today, and I am amazed that it took me this long to discover it.

If God is walking in front of us, we are following exactly where He leads, like the Israelites in the desert. All we have to do is stay on the right path and follow. But if He is behind us and speaking to us, that requires two things: being attuned enough to God to hear His voice and stepping out in faith.

I am perfectly happy having God behind me now. Not only is He my rearguard, He is also leading me in the way I should go if I will only listen and obey with faith in His master plan.