Right Paths Require Right Directions

Accept correction, and you will find life; reject correction, and you will miss the road. You can hide your hatred by telling lies, but you are a fool to spread lies. You will say the wrong thing if you talk too much—so be sensible and watch what you say. The words of a good person are like pure silver, but the thoughts of an evil person are almost worthless. Many are helped by useful instruction, but fools are killed by their own stupidity. (Proverbs 10:17-21 CEV)

When we are correcting something, there is a substitution for what is wrong or inaccurate. We are making an adjustment in order to increase accuracy or reverse a trend in a particular action. We could also think of correction as the punishment we receive which is intended to put us back on the right course. The idea is that of "substituting" one behavior for another in order to get a different outcome is the most accurate definition. If we continue doing the same thing, we will always get what we have always gotten! So, correction is designed to help us do something "differently" in order to change the outcome.

We think we can fix ourselves, but we got into the mess because we had blinders on, causing us to only see what we wanted to see; or we were so "open minded" we forgot to really think through what we were doing in the first place. We need to have the blinders removed - so we sometimes need someone on the "outside" of the mess we are in to actually help us see where the blinders have limited our focus. We also need someone to clearly delineate the path for us to follow, because the one we have been choosing is just riddled with messiness!

Fools are tripped up by THEIR OWN stupidity - not the stupidity of others! We sometimes think we can put the blame for our missteps on others, but truth be told, we took those steps on our own! When "useful instruction" comes our way, it takes quite a brave man or woman to actually embrace it and turn away from the folly of our ways. Bravery is the willingness to challenge the norm - to dare to be different from what we have always been. Bravery stands up to the wrong we have created in our minds and dares to think differently. Most of our missteps in life are simply because we have embraced some type of "errant' belief. In turn, we act upon that errant thought pattern, and we find ourselves "missing the road" we should actually have traveled!

Sometimes we just choose the wrong way - either because of our own lack of investigation into the pathway we are traveling, or because we have given into some form of peer pressure and just idly go that way. When I am lost on the roadways on some journey I am on, I don't just drive round and round. I pull over, look again at the map, and then ask directions. What I am doing is referencing "truth" (the map) and getting counsel (asking for directions). We all need to stop on occasion to be sure our actions are in alignment with the Word of God and to check our steps with others who are in intimate relationship with Jesus. In turn, we often will save ourselves many a misstep!

So, learning to "tune in" a little more to our thoughts, allowing the Holy Spirit to "right" them when they are getting a little too "free form" will save us a whole lot of idle wandering down roads best left untraveled in the first place! Just sayin!

Plan Number One

Got any plans for your day? One nice thing about being on vacation is the lack of plans! We find ourselves very spontaneous, making plans only if it involves being at an established location at a certain time (such as to catch some fish in the early morning hours). Other than that, we kind of just like to take it one day at a time! Not a bad way to live, but how many of us can actually live like this? Unless we are retired, it is not likely! 

We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it. (Proverbs 16:9)

We plan the way we WANT to live - but only God makes us ABLE to live it. Plans and ability are two separate things, are they not? We make a lot of plans which we never seem able to fulfill, right? They just don't come together as they should, or never really get finished because other demands seem to creep up which require our attention. Let's be honest - we all have plans we sometimes have no ability to fulfill - we just hope we might make some progress toward them sometime down the road. It is God's business to give us the ability to live out the plans, but I think he scrutinizes the plans we make to see that they line up with his "master plan" for our lives.

When God lays out our path and we determine to walk within that pathway, we are led away from evil and toward the place of safety in our lives. "The road of right living bypasses evil; watch your step and save your life." (vs. 17) I cannot help but examine some of the paths I have taken in my life because I wanted to go down those roads. As I look back, there are some pretty deep pot-holes, rocky courses, and the like which I had to navigate through in order to come out on the other side. There are even some I actually abandoned instead of seeing them through to the end. Why? They weren't the right paths! They weren't honoring God and they weren't fulfilling me. So, in the end, I wasted a lot of time discovering this, but somehow when I did, God was right there ready to get me back on course again. What he was doing in the time it took me to figure out I was pursuing a wrong course was getting me good and ready to pursue the right one! So, not even a wrong course is wasted in the hands of God.

"Failure is certain when pride becomes our mode of operation in life. First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall." (vs. 18) One thing proud people don't do well is listen to instruction. It is their pride actually closing off their "hearing"! To prosper, we need to listen to instruction and trust in God. "Prosper" is a word of action. It means to thrive. If you have ever experienced being in a desolate, dry place in your life, you probably have known the opposite of prospering - nothing thrives in dryness but pretty prickly stuff like cacti and tumbleweed! Does it surprise you that the dry places seem a little barren? It shouldn't because any time we choose our own way over God's, we choose the rocky and prickly path!

"A wise man is known for their understanding. It pays to take life seriously; things work out when you trust in God. A wise person gets known for insight; gracious words add to one’s reputation."  (vs. 20-21) The words of the wise are persuasive while the words of the fool might be able to dupe us into believing them. The words of the wise carry an authority unlike any other. We don't gain wisdom in isolation. Wisdom is learned while being "on the journey". Learning is a lifestyle - not a pursuit. Learning is made up of disciplined steps. A foolish man will take steps without much thinking, but those steps determine his destiny. Disciplined steps are discretionary steps. There is some matter of choice made by the one taking the steps, but these choices are based on what has become evident as prudent or sensible. Prudent or sensible steps become evident because you get to know the one who gives good judgment - God himself.

Although there are many reasons for planning, nothing is more motivating that some element of hunger. The right "hunger", not just an appetite. "Appetite" is really a drive to satisfy a need - it could be physical, spiritual, or emotional. What we determine to be our "needs" is important to consider in light of how those "needs" will be met as we pursue getting them met. Appetite for spiritual graces draws us closer to Jesus and makes us pursue him harder. We would do well to consider our appetites when we are planning our course. Plan but don't forget who makes you able to fulfill the plans! Just sayin!

Stop - consider - choose

Two paths - two choices - a whole lot of things drawing us down one - only one thing drawing us down the other. Life is not always easy, nor are the paths we take totally "well-traveled" by others.  In fact, we may find ourselves on a path which is just not all that well-discovered, nor is it well-worn, yet I have found those paths often give us the greatest discoveries in life!  You hear all the time of people getting a "major" in one subject and a "minor" in another while they are completing their degrees in higher education. In essence, they are saying they have "two pathways" in life which they can fall back on if the need arises.  If the economy takes a turn this way or that, they might be a little more resilient in their job opportunities because of that dual educational path, but in life, it is rare that we can actually follow two paths and do justice to both!

There are two paths before you; you may take only one path. One doorway is narrow. And one door is wide. Go through the narrow door. For the wide door leads to a wide path, and the wide path is broad; the wide, broad path is easy, and the wide, broad, easy path has many, many people on it; but the wide, broad, easy, crowded path leads to death. Now then that narrow door leads to a narrow road that in turn leads to life. It is hard to find that road. Not many people manage it. (Matthew 7:13-14 VOICE)

I recently listened to two testimonies from women undergoing the decision to abort their unborn child when they were much younger and ultimately taking that step to "rid themselves" of the unwanted pregnancy.  One explained they were kind of a "party hearty" gal, given to using a little too much alcohol at those parties, and then "finding herself" pregnant after one of those nights of hard partying.  The other simply told of the story of having thought she was loved by someone, but then discovering the individual had no real commitment to her, leaving her with the choice to be a single, unwed mother or abort the child.  In retrospect, both women told of their regret at having made that decision years and years earlier (one was 63 at the time she shared her testimony of a decision she made 43 years earlier).  To this day, they live with regret - shame - and even a little bit of inability to fully trust God to forgive them for their decision.

Two paths presented themselves to these women - only two choices seemed possible.  One involved years and years of dedication to a child's needs above their own; while the other involved a momentary decision that would supposedly "free" them from that long, labor-intensive, life-limiting journey. What they never counted on was the intensity of their grief over having made the "wrong decision" to end the life of their child.  They also didn't count on the shame they carried into their next 30-40 years of life.  Something I heard in their stories - the paths are not always "clearly marked" with truthful "way-faring" signs, my friends!  Sometimes the signs point one direction, promising something much different than what we encounter at the end of that path!

They never counted on the guilt or shame - they trusted in what others told them would "fix" the "problem".  One thing I have learned in my own "pathway decisions" in life is this idea of being certain where or in whom we are placing our trust.  Trust is "based" in or upon something or someone. If it is placed wrongly - just casually observing the "way-faring signs" along the way and placing your trust in them to get you to the best destination, you might find this is not ever the best plan.  I have a little acronym for trust:  Totally Resting Upon Someone Trustworthy.  In life, we "rest upon" a lot of things and people, but not all of these are trustworthy.  They haven't been tried and found to be reliable - but I have found God's word and his promises to be reliable - for they have stood the test of time!

Whenever I go into a forested area, I observe for the well-worn paths.  I may see some smaller pathways into the forested area, but I also see these well-worn paths.  Why do I choose the well-worn in these situations?  It is usually because someone has prepared that pathway for my future travel!  It is well-worn because it leads to the promised destination - such as the water along the path or the observation point which provides a majestic view of the land all around.  The smaller paths may be just as beautiful, but they don't always lead to as trustworthy or purposeful destinations.  In life, there are not always "well-worn" paths, though.  Sometimes we are faced with one "boulevard" of a path, streaming with others taking the same path, leading to a specific destination we know we need to travel - while others we are faced with are a slightly less worn path, narrow and not as easily traversed. The latter may look a little ominous before us, but I have often found it is the one leading to the most pristine of valleys and still places of God's rest.  

We must guard against just accepting the one traveled by all. It may be a good path - I am not saying it isn't.  It may also have some "okay" reward at the end, but it may also mean we miss the most coveted and tenderly prepared place of God's rest, majesty, and strength we could ever encounter in life! Just sayin!

Straight Paths - Part II

You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.  You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.  That’s right – you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set.  You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it.  Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel.  I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.  I’m going to do what you tell me to do; don’t ever walk off and leave me.  (Psalm 119:1-8)

In examining this passage, I am challenged by the meaning of the word “follow”.  To follow implies many things that I have come to appreciate:

• To accept the authority of the one we make a matter of our focus or attention – it implies a condition of obedience to the authority and counsel of our righteous God.
• To come to a specified place in a specified time, sequence, or order – we are brought into a place well-planned for us in the exact timing, by the exact method, and in the specific purposes of our unchanging God.
• To imitate – it is our greatest glory to imitate, or take on the image, of our God.
• To watch steadily, observe keenly, or to keep the mind on – it is not an inattentive, haphazard pursuit that the writer is focusing on here, but one of purposeful, directed steps with a fixed focus and an enlarged perspective.
• To chase or pursue – passionately engaged in truly catching or laying hold of the one we pursue – overcoming him with our passionate pursuit.

We don’t go off on our own – we remain consistent in the path he designs, even in the midst of our own battle of will that pulls us to take an easier path or one promising us more tantalizing reward.  We walk straight – not veering in our course.  It is a blessed thing to remain – to not be used up by the path we pursue, to not be destroyed along the way.  This ability to “remain” is provided by the God of divine compassion – the one who makes our ways straight and gives us the endurance to stand strong.

He prescribes the way – outlines the plan.  Our part is to walk in what he prescribes.  In the end, the promise is a life free of regrets.  Oh, I am sure that sounds like “pie in the sky” for many of us – we’ve already endured more regrets that we care to admit.  It is never too late to “begin again” in the course God has prepared for us – to lay aside past regrets and to pursue the path he outlines in the pursuit of all he plans for us.  

Regret is an outcome of disappointment – hopes dashed, dreams unfulfilled, and losses deeply felt.  This is not the outcome of pursuing the one that is unchangeable in all his ways – it more definitely the result of our pursuit of our own selfish desires, focusing our attention on imperfect people, or embracing empty relationships.   We protect ourselves from regret by embracing his wise counsel – by comparing our every movement with what he has outlined in his Word.  In it, God outlines “safe paths” and speaks to us “straight from the heart” so that we can avoid the pitfalls of disappointment that await us down the paths he has not designed.

We learn to walk in his paths one step at a time – it is not a dash, nor is it a relay.  It is a consistent, forward movement toward a goal.  It is a patterned pursuit – marked out by the Master of our souls.  As we daily seek his paths, we learn to step out in a growing assurance that the way is ordered, well-marked, and free of all that brings harm.  At first, we may step out in the path God outlines, then quickly veer to the direction that appeals more to our natural reasoning, only to find ourselves knee deep in hazards we did not anticipate.  At these times, we even are so vain as to blame God for the hazards – we question why we face the things that seem to have brought harm into our lives.  Thank God, he is a merciful guide – he points out the hazards, heals our wounds, righting our stand – then he places us on course once again.

Even in the midst of our accusing and questioning ways, he tenderly guides. 

It is a good thing to walk in such a way that we never veer off course, but is an even more comforting thing to know that when we do wander or drift, he is there to restore and renew.  He has even planned for our “changeableness” – knowing full well that we may purpose to do what he has revealed for us to do, but that our self-man is weak in its commitment to that path.  We are like David – we yearn for the path he prepares – yet we struggle to resist the appeal of the path that offers the immediate reward, the passing enjoyment.  David purposed to walk straight – let that be our purpose, as well.