The Way

I recently watched a group of men attempt to put together a trampoline. They didn’t read the manual since this wasn’t their first time assembling one. After hours of struggling, they pulled out the directions, read what they did wrong, and found out how to fix it. Unfortunately, they had to start all over, but this time, armed with knowledge, they finished well.

There comes a time in each of our lives when we think we are on the right path and don’t need directions. This self-reliance is dangerous because our instincts can be wrong, and our feelings can lie. Proverbs 14:12 warns us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” This proverb is so crucial that we reread it in Proverbs 16:25; it is a warning worth repeating. Why? Because the end of the road isn’t a temporary inconvenience but death.

There is a scene from an old comedy where a man is driving on the wrong side of a freeway, unaware that he is about to crash head-on with two big semi-trucks. A terrified onlooker began screaming that he was going the wrong way. The passenger in the disaster-bound car heard him and said, “He says we’re going the wrong way.” To which the overly confident driver responded, “How would he know where we’re going?” The misguided passenger agreed, “Yeah, how would he know?”

Our Heavenly Father doesn’t want us “going the wrong way,” so He graciously provides instructions to keep us moving in the right direction. To live a victorious Christian life, the Bible is essential. Psalm 119:105 tells us that God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. If we ignore it, we will find ourselves lost, in the dark, and racing toward disaster. When this happens, the remedy is to look to God and His word for guidance, acknowledge our mistakes, and obey His instructions. When we do, God allows us to start over and rejoices when we arm ourselves with His truth. With Jesus as our guide (who knows the way, shows the way, goes the way, and is The Way,) we can be confident that we will finish well.

Pray: Dear Lord, Thank you for Your perfect instructions that guide Your children in the right direction—safely home to You. May we never take the Bible for granted but instead study it, meditate on it, apply it, and cherish it. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Think: “The purpose of the Bible? Salvation. God’s highest passion is to get His children home. His book, the Bible, describes His plan of salvation. The purpose of the Bible is to proclaim God’s plan and passion to save His children.” – Max Lucado

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” – Psalm 119:105