Ps. 25:4 – ‘Make me know Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths.’ (NASB)
Ps. 5:8 – ‘Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before me.’ (ESV)
In the short time I’ve been alive, I can honestly say I’ve made my share of mistakes. Haven’t you? Haven’t we all? And since giving my life to Christ and deciding to follow Him, I can honestly say I’ve made some more mistakes; probably not in the same ways, but mistakes nonetheless. Being a Christian does not change the fact that we are a broken people living in a broken world… It just means that we have an Example of how we ought to be (Jesus Christ), a Strength and Wisdom to pursue change for the better (the Holy Spirit), and a loving Parent who watches over us and picks us up when we fall (our Heavenly Father).
“Being a Christian does not change the fact that we are a broken people living in a broken world…”
If you were blessed with awesome parents like I was (I said awesome, not perfect), then you would have an idea of the deep sense of reliance a child places in their parent(s). If you were not as fortunate as I was, then worry not; in God you will find a Parent that NEVER disappoints (Heb. 12:5-11)—you just have to remember that He knows what is best for you, and that you’re not wiser than He is (I say this as a good thing).
What does that all have to do with this post, you ask?
Matthew 7:13-14 – ‘“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.’
Jesus says that the gate to life is small/narrow, and so is the path. The path is so narrow (and challenging) that very few find it, or even want to go that way. Most would rather go the popular and most travelled way.
But even after you have found the path, you still have to walk along it. There isn’t a moving walkway through life; you are not just transported without effort to your destination. No. You have to walk the path.
“…with our many mistakes, it would be no surprise if we veered off the path every now and then, and wandered into oblivion.”
The Bible tells us that, for the most part, this is God’s doing. Examples of this are in the Scriptures above, as well as this verse which is found in one of the most known passages of the Bible:
‘The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.’ (Psalm 23:1-3, NKJV)
He is the one who leads us… All for His glory… All for our good. But nonetheless, we still have to work/walk (eg. Phil. 2:12-13). And with our many mistakes, it would be no surprise if we veered off the path every now and then, and wandered into oblivion. And wander off we often do (unfortunately); but God so graciously hems us in the right way as we trust in Him. Like the loving Shepherd He is, He ushers us along the narrow path.
Most of us walk this walk of life with two left feet, but His word is a ‘lamp to our feet and a light to our path’ (Ps. 119:105); it is the braces with which are crooked steps are being corrected. His grace and mercy are the crutches that hold up. You might take crooked steps now, but as you walk along this path and follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ, pretty soon you will begin to walk as you ought (1 John 2:6).
‘Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.’ (Hebrews 12:12-13, ESV)
For more encouragement, be on the lookout for my upcoming book, ‘May The Meditations of My Heart…’ out June 12th!
