Paths of Life

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding: In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.” (Proverbs 3:5)

I can’t tell you how many times I have directed my own paths in life. That is to say, made my own decisions, taken my own actions and gone the way of Chris. Only to find myself worse off than I was. As a Christian, we are instructed to lean not unto our own understanding (wisdom) - boy could I have saved myself a lot of grief early in life - but in all our ways, acknowledge the Lord.

What does that mean? Simply to bring our Lord into every current and future decision, as we walk through life, by praying for guidance and wisdom, including asking others to pray with us and for us as we consider which direction to go next. Then, rest in the promise that, He will direct our path.

Resting and waiting for that direction is difficult. The temptation is always to jump right in and fix the path ourselves. But notice in the above verse, no time limit was mention. God did not say he would direct our path in 5 minutes or 5 days or 5 years.

Consider Abraham - a prophet of God - he did not always wait for God’s direction but made decisions in his own strength. One such decision, living closer to Egypt’s abundance instead of Canaan’s famine. Makes sense right? Except for one thing, Canaan was where God wanted him, not Egypt. (Genesis 12:10-20)

The famine in Canaan was not a punishment for sin, rather it was a test of faith. He left God's best and ran away from God's test. Real faith will always be tested. The great test is to submit and trust God, instead of running away! Abram was to choose the uncertainty of Canaan over the abundance of Egypt to past his test. Sadly, he did not and as a result, he lied to Pharaoh about his wife Sarai and lost his testimony in Egypt. He was literally kicked out of the world (Egypt) by the world!

Lost people never forget a ruined testimony! They may never remember your good works, but they will never forget your failures! What gets more air time, Peter's preaching at Pentecost, or his denial of Christ? What about David escorting the Ark to Jerusalem, or David and Bathsheba?

In looking at your decisions in life, are you camping Canaan, firmly fixed in the land of blessing, victory and testimony, or have you gone down to Egypt? All it takes to get to Egypt is a little compromise here and there and before you know it, you are miles away from the Lord. You will never prosper as long as you are not where God wants you to be!

My advise, come home, rebuild your altars and live for Jesus like He saved you to do.