Pathways

Psalm 16:6 (The Passion Translation)

Your pleasant path leads me to pleasant places.
I’m overwhelmed by the privileges that come with following you,
for you have given me the best!

Hosea 14:9 (NLT)

Let those who are wise understand these things.

Let those who are discerning listen carefully.

The paths of the LORD are true and right,

and righteous people live by walking in them.

But sinners stumble and fall along the way.

The Lord obviously wants us to pay careful attention to the paths

He has laid out for us to walk in. 

Paths are supposed to be traveled on a regular basis or else they become overgrown and useless. We may stop a while and enjoy God’s bountiful creation, but as a general rule we need to keep moving. Each of God’s pathways include multitudes of lessons that are uncovered like beautiful vistas around every twist and turn of our walk. Don’t allow the paths of God to become overgrown and impassable due to neglect of spiritual exercise. 

Ps. 16:11

You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

It is impossible to travel our life-paths too quickly. They may be uneven and narrow. One should travel carefully and deliberately – making way for others who may pass in the other direction. As we pass strangers, a measure of communication, eye contact and polite greeting is definitely in order. As you walk on your spiritual pathways, enjoy each of the God-lovers who pass by. You never know what treasures God may bring your way. Don’t rush through the lessons of life. Pay attention to the details and rhythms of gracearound every corner. I love this passage from The Message Bible – 

Matthew 11:28-30

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Psalm 32:8

The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.

I will advise you and watch over you

The Lord as our lives under control. I am determined to keep my eyes on Him. As we move forward...there is abundance:

Psalm 65:11 (NLT)

You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;

even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.

God's 10 pathways in the Bible that have a name...
The Path Of...

1.  Psalm 16:11 The path of life. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

2.  Psalm 23:3 The paths of righteousness. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. (NKJV)

3.  Psalm 119:35 The path of Your commands. Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness (delight – NKJV) is found. (NLT)

4.   Psalm 139:24 The path of everlasting life. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (NLT

5.   Proverbs 15:19 The path of the upright. A lazy person’s way is blocked with briers, but the path of the upright (faithful) is an open highway. (NLT)

  

6.   Proverbs 15:24 The life-path of the wise.The way of life winds upward for the wise, that he may turn away from hell below. (NKJV)

The path of life leads upward for the wise; they leave the grave behind. (NLT)

7.   Isaiah 40:14 The path of justice.With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?

Proverbs 4:18 The (path) way of the righteous (just) is like the first gleam of dawn,
which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

8.  Luke 1:79 The path of peace.To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (NKJV)

And he will illuminate the path that leads to the way of peace.” (TPT)

9.   John 13:17 The path of blessing. You know these things -- now do them! That is the path of blessing. (NLT)

10. 2Timothy 2:18 The path of Truth. They have left the path of truth, preaching the lie that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; and they have undermined the faith of some. (NLT) 

Helping the Broken

A dear friend of mine is at the end of her rope - trying to help a person in trouble. I wrote this to help and encourage her today:

You can only do so much for people in situations like this. You cannot save them - they HAVE TO RISE UP ON THE INSIDE FOR THEMSELVES. I know you know this, but so many fail in the healing process because they want others to do the hard work for them. ...And it is very hard work to break bondages. No one can win these victories for us - we must find the strength of God and character inside ourselves, or the victory will never "stick." We go round and around the same pole.

Broken people are always looking for "saviors," or "messiahs." Stronger people who will "save" them when they don't want to do the hard work of overcoming for themselves. Kind friends can be sucked into the losing battle of trying to help - in the end they get worn out and abused.

There is only one Savior - He has done it all, and His victory is more than enough for every sin and brokenness. His Salvation is free...but it will still cost us our lives to change from our pathetic and broken wee selves into champions of His grace.

Victory can only come from daily decisions to walk in wholeness and holiness despite the cost - these are moment-by-moment, day-by-day, year-by-year choices that arise out of the seemingly ordinary situations we find ourselves in. Slowly we build pathways of grace - out of our darkness and into His light...but the old self is lost in the process and all that He has intended for us to become - our destiny - comes into view. We can no longer hold on to those lies, addictions and habits that framed our former selves. We are, indeed, made new.

What your friend needs is a vision to hold onto of their true destiny and identity in Christ; a Church that will be patient with them - all the while, not putting up with all the games that go along with this struggle to become whole; a strong commitment to this war and its many battles - this includes a commitment to Christ, His Word and the relationship of life that only He can give; Grace.

The love you want to show to your friend must be filled with these things - full of grace...yet grounded in uncompromising truth. An honest seeker will thank you for it and be changed by it.

God bless you as you serve her as Christ would serve her. Wash her pain, but hold her to the enduring and unyielding holiness of God. None of this means that we cannot falter at times...but He makes it possible for us to stand up again and again in the face of every mistake, injustice and suffering. NOTHING is strong enough to negate the power of His blood or the supremacy of his grace in anyone who has the audacity to fling themselves upon Him.

God's Footsteps

I am meditating on God’s footsteps tonight – loving the idea that He uses His own footsteps to make a pathway for us:

Psalm 82:13 Righteousness will go before Him,
 And shall make His footsteps our pathway. (NKJV)

(Amplified) Righteousness shall go before Him and shall make His footsteps a way in which to walk.

Not many translations seem to see it this way, but this is very beautiful to me – the thought that we walk in a pathway of God's as He leads us throughout our lives.

I am reminded that the first ones to hear God’s footsteps were Adam and Eve:

Gen. 3:8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

This is also the first mention of anyone hearing anything in the Bible…they heard God walking! I don’t think they hid themselves because the footsteps of the Lord were ominous in any way – surely, they hid themselves because of their sin…but I wonder what God sounded like as He walked in the garden. I am sure this is not the first experience of sound…it is just the first time sound is recorded in the Word, and it just so happens to be the sound of God walking…

Now we are invited to follow Him, or walk in His footsteps…and what a walk this proves to be:

Matt. 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

I think this can only be possible if we walk closely to Him – placing our feet in the pathway He has made.

I really love this song by Joel Houston, Matt Crocker and Salomon Lighthelm that our worship team lead today – I have placed one section in bold – those words really “got me” this morning:

"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"

You call me out upon the waters

The great unknown where feet may fail

And there I find You in the mystery

In oceans deep

My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name

And keep my eyes above the waves

When oceans rise

My soul will rest in Your embrace

For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters

Your sovereign hand

Will be my guide

Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me

You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name

And keep my eyes above the waves

When oceans rise

My soul will rest in Your embrace

For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters

Wherever You would call me

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

And my faith will be made stronger

In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your Name

Keep my eyes above the waves

My soul will rest in Your embrace

I am Yours and You are mine

This all reminds me of that 1936 Mary Stevenson poem “Footsteps in the Sand.” The premise is that the writer could see herself walking with Jesus and creating 2 sets of footprints in the sand. She was concerned that during times of trial, there were only one set of footprints, and she seems to suggest that the Lord had left her alone. He replied, however, that it was during these times that He would carry her. Delightful.

May I suggest one more reason why we might only see one set of footprints during our seasons of greatest struggle…we are walking so closely to Him that we walk exactly where He has walked, do what He is doing, say what He says, and reflect His glory to others.

Be like a child and walk on your Father's feet today. Leave only one set of footprints behind you - the Lord's. Follow wherever He leads and enjoy Him.

For an earlier series on Pathways - go HERE