There is a way…

The Bible tells us that ‘there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death’ (Proverbs 16:25). So what’s a body to do? If my way seems right, how do I know, how can I be sure it is not the way of death?

Most would say, ‘just listen to your heart…go with your gut, etc.’ Yet, if I stay in The Word, look what comes up: ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?’ (Jeremiah 17:9) So much for that.

Then HOW can I know the way that seems right is right? God doesn’t have skin on anymore. He doesn’t actually hold my hand and lead me clearly forward just because I will him to. There is a fair amount of effort expended to assure this feeble soul that the ways that seem right to me are indeed the will of The Most High. Sometimes the ‘way’ is made clear by what happens immediately following the decision to turn this way or that.

A friend of mine recently turned down a path they convinced themselves was safe, only to suffer an auto accident. It was a miracle accident, you know the kind, minor injuries only in what could have been far worse, and the hand of God was clearly seen both in protection, and correction.

A speedy retracing of the path showed the other option to be the will of God instead. The suffering encountered because of the error is nonetheless painful, and precious time has been wasted. Nevertheless, God patiently teaches us lessons, and we patiently endure, hopefully the wiser for the chastisement. How do we avoid these errors? What will it take for us to finally ‘learn from our mistakes’ and always choose the way that not only seems right, but also is right?

‘Hey, just pray about it, already! Ask God to show you, and believe that he will; and as your faith is, so be it unto you.’ This simple advice has been given and received so many times! I believe that, you know. And that is what most of us do whenever we come to a place along life’s road where the ways divide and direction decisions must be made. We go to God in prayer. He is so faithful, he does answer each and every prayer we utter (assuming our sin has not separated us from him and from hearing his voice), and most of the time his Word is a lamp unto our feet and a Light unto our path so our steps are sure and progress, growth, and success result. It is all about prayer.

Fall on your knees, open the Good Book, and submit to the depth of relationship Jesus calls us to. The enemy and our flesh fight hard to take the hours away so prayer time remains shallow and sporatic. Fight back! One of the weapons we can use in this fight is the off button! Think about this:

Just what will we miss if we don’t log on to Facebook every day? What will happen if that text message isn’t read for a day or two? Will the person die? Will we? Probably not. There is scientific evidence now that shows how technology has actually shortened attention spans and reduced our ability to compute mentally and complete thoughts and projects. The constant interruption and electrical impulses confuse our brains and reduce us to mind-numbed robots; slaves to the little instrument we so lovingly cradle in our palm. One old Hopi Elder said it this way, ‘the communication with God is hindered by these instruments. You can no longer hear his voice, and the intuition shuts down.’

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death…hmmm. Let’s use the off button more and turn our hearts to Jesus and His Word so our steps are indeed ordered of The Lord. Thanks for reading. Pray on.