Easing on down the path

Awe:  an overwhelming feeling of reverence produced by that which is all powerful.  Some may stand in fear of such a powerful force in their midst, but how about you?  Do you stand in fear or reverence of the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-caring God of the universe?  Does he produce dread, or admiration?  Do you stand before him in fright, or wonder? I imagine there are those who worship at his feet in wonder and astonished honor who sometimes "dread" something bad will happen in their lives - not because they fear that "bad" thing coming from him, but just because we live in a fallen world.  ONLY those who stand in awe of the Eternal God will have intimacy with him - absolutely no one will get to know him on the deepest of levels without approaching him with the wonder and awe he so rightfully deserves.

ONLY those who stand in awe of the Eternal will have intimacy with Him, and He will reveal His covenant to them. PERPETUALLY my focus takes me to the Eternal because He will set me free from the traps laid for me.  (Psalm 25:14-15 VOICE)

Earlier in this same passage, David says, "DEMONSTRATE Your ways, O Eternal One. Teach me to understand so I can follow. EASE me down the path of Your truth. FEED me Your word because You are the True God who has saved me. I wait all day long, hoping, trusting in You." (vs. 4-5) Those who desire to have an intimate relationship with God begin by asking God to "demonstrate" his ways - teaching them to understand those way with the aim of following closely in those "demonstrated" steps.  When God demonstrates his ways, he reveals them to us with such clarity there can be no denying they are the steps he wishes for us to follow.  Those who follow in his steps can be assured of this - they will see the truth of his covenant of love revealed in their lives.

God's not satisfied with casual contact - he desires a much deeper, closer, and frequent contact with his children. If the truth be told here, we aren't very satisfied with casual contact either!  If we are, it is only because we have never experienced the depth, privilege, and extreme peace of a much more "intimate" relationship.  If we are to draw near to God, we need to first recognize we have an open invitation into his presence.  I have some friends I know I could call on at 2 a.m. in the morning, just because I needed them.  The "open invitation" we have within our relationship is understood - we don't have to keep reminding each other it is okay to reach out anytime we need each other.  We just do! Why?  We have come to recognize the joy of being with each other, the thrill we experience when we finally settle on a course of action we are about to take, etc.  I think the same may just be true with the one we draw close to is Christ himself - he just gives us these close friends here on earth so we can experience a little bit of his through their closeness and hugs!

Traps are laid for us each and every day.  Some are certainly put there by those who desire nothing more than to see us suffer - such as the suicide bomber, or the radicalized terrorist who shoots innocent people gathered together to celebrate some moment in time.  The majority of the traps we experience are simply there without any particular design by others, but are there because we ignored the signs to not proceed down that path in the first place.  I have run into many an obstacle in my path simply because I took the wrong path - failing to draw near enough to the one who wanted to guide my steps so that I could actually be eased down the right path!  Choosing to walk on my own, distancing myself from the one who already knows what is down that path, I made my own way.  True intimacy with God may not mean we always take the right path, but at least we take it more and more often!  As David said, God "eases" us down the path we are to be following.  That word should give us some insight - easing someone requires a little bit of urging, an occasional nudge in the right direction, and sometimes a little bit of a jolt to our senses to put us on alert we are about to take the wrong path!

The surest way to taking the right path is to draw near enough to God to feel those "pushes" in the right direction. I can receive an IM from a friend directing me to do something I have been hesitant to do, but nothing does more for me than to have that friend walk right up to me, take my hand or put their arm around me, and then guide me to take that course of action!  Just sayin!