Paths

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11 ESV)

The last couple of weeks I’ve been thinking about paths, specifically the path I’m following. Yesterday I read this excerpt from Progress of Another Pilgrim by Frances J. Roberts:

“The Lord GOD. . .revealeth his secret unto his servants.” Amos 3:7

I [God] have a special path for you. Search it out diligently. Met Me guide you in it. Follow not other sheep aimlessly as they roam through My pastures.
I have you on a path which is all your own. It is not My way for anybody else. It will become clear to you only be revelation from Me.
I call it the golden path. It is a sacred secret between us. Guard it and keep it, and treasure it in the secret places of your soul.

The thing that strikes me most is that when we follow the path God has for us, we find that He has tailored it to the way He has created us. It’s unique. It may not be fun at times, but we know that all He does, all He allows us to encounter in the path, all He provides for us to enable us to walk that path is the best way for us. Because God is good, just, and faithful, we can trust Him in this.

But we are flawed, and we limit what God wants to do, where He wants to take us, what He desires to accomplish through us. We tend to compare our path with the paths others are on. “The grass is greener on the other side of the fence” type mentality keeps us from seeing the blessings of our own unique path. Our eyes and hearts covet what seems to be the easier way our friends are on. We forget that God knows us better than we do ourselves.

When we choose to follow a path of our own making, we lose God’s peace. And the joy that comes from an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ evaporates. Happiness is fleeting in any relationship because it is temporal. Joy and peace are eternal and fulfilling. Many times, when I experience the turmoil of depression, discouragement, or despair in my chosen path, I can know that I have made a decision to follow my own way instead of God’s. I may continue to choose to ignore God and pursue happiness and contentment in the world’s path, but until I surrender my will to His, I won’t find lasting peace and joy.

“He knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold” Job 23:10 ESV.

When Job said this he was going through the roughest trial of his life. He’d lost all of his wealth, his children, many of his servants, and his health. Yet in the midst of these trials, he knew he was on the path that God had chosen for him. And Job kept his eyes on the future prize of a purified life. In the end, Job gained a new perspective of God, and he was given even more blessing than he had before.

God’s best path for our life doesn’t come problem-free. In fact, in many ways it could be harder than choosing to follow the path of least resistance. But I have learned that even when pain, darkness, or roadblocks obscures my path, God never leaves me to face the obstacles alone. Even in the midst of turmoil that comes from the world, my flesh, and our enemy opposing my choice to follow God, I have peace and joy, knowing that God is ultimately leading me on the path that suits me best.

My constant prayer for my children, my husband, my family, my friends is that we would all choose to follow God’s unique path for each of us. But even as the path God desires to put us on is unique to each individual, so are the choices we make in choosing to follow our way or God’s way. Which will it be for you today? As for me, I have chosen.

And if following God’s way makes me look like a fool in the eyes of the world, so be it. His peace is more precious than approval or success in this world’s system, which is only temporal. God’s blessings are eternal. “But as for me. . .[I] will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15.