Right Path
I remember growing up on a farm in Kentucky where we raised cows and also milked cows. When I was a kid, we milked 5 cows each day – morning and evening. The cows were creatures of habit. They had walking trails all across the hillside where they grazed on grass during the day. Each morning and each evening, they would walk those trails and end up at the barn to be milked. It always cracked me up that they followed the trails. My brothers and sisters would play “Cowboys and Indians” and use the trails to travel on missions. I can still see those trails as we spent hours playing.
Today, I like finding “4-wheeler trails” behind my house. My kids could race through the woods on trails that we made. Some were a bit treacherous and others were wide open. Trails indicate that someone has been here before me. The Proverb writer (King Solomon) reminded people of the path. Check this out…..
2 Those who follow the right path fear the Lord;
those who take the wrong path despise him.
12 There is a path before each person that seems right,
but it ends in death. (Proverbs 14:2,12 NLT)
Andy Stanley wrote a book several years ago called: “The Principle of The Path – How to get from where you are to where you want to be”. He gives fantastic insight to getting on the right path and staying on the journey there. Below are some quotes that really challenge me and blessed me:
“The direction you are currently traveling—relationally, financially, spiritually, and the list goes on and on—will determine where you end up in each of those respective arenas.”
“prudent people look as far down the road as possible when making decisions.”
“Direction—not intention—determines our destination.”
“To get from where we don’t want to be to where we do want to be requires two things: time and a change of direction.”
“I always end up where the road I’ve chosen takes me.”
“One gets to the place one wants to be the same way one got to the place one didn’t want to be—by putting one foot in front of the other and moving in a specific direction.”
I want to be put my feet on the path that the Lord has laid out that leads to eternal life. While I’m on that path, my life becomes the abundant life. It requires discipline, faithfulness, obedience, love, grace and patience – to name a few. It is not a “quick trip”, it is a steady climb in the correct direction.
There are many who’ve been on this path before me, but there are many who have traveled the path that leads to destruction. The good path is “the road less traveled” and the bad path is very popular and crowded. The voice of God ALWAYS calls me to the path that leads to Him.
Pressing On!
Dwayne