"Directed Steps"

    "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself.  It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." 

(Jeremiah 10:23)

    

    Great peace descends upon us and arises within us when we acknowledge our inability to successfully chart the course and navigate the seas of our lives.  God did not make us to do so, but rather to look to Him for the knowledge, wisdom, and enabling that leads us ever on and safely on.

    "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool… In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 28:26; 3:6).  

    This does not mean that we disengage our minds and simply wait for our Heavenly Father to move us as if we were pawns on a chessboard.  On the contrary, those who look to Him for guidance become far more mentally active as we realize that our capacities for thought, planning, and determined action serve as the stewards of God's ownership and will.  We embark upon our paths by trusting Him - "Commit thy way unto the Lord" (Psalm 37:5).  We also seek to walk in the attitude of faith and submission to the reputation and will of another - "Let us walk in the light of the Lord" (Isaiah 2:5).  Upon this basis, the Holy Spirit works within us to motivate and empower our human capacities whereby we think better and more clearly.  This leads to better planning and analysis, which results in decision making and actions empowered by God's grace, as received and assimilated by faith.  "Think soberly (soundly and with self control), according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Romans 12:3).

    As the saying goes, a mind is a terrible thing to waste.  It is even more terrible to mistakenly view our ability to think, plan, and act as the master of our destiny.  Our brains are rather stewards who live by the auspices, authority, and actualization of Another.  We begin our days and our ways by "looking unto Jesus, the author… of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).  We then live in confident expectation of His guidance as our Lord fulfills His promise to direct our steps…

"For with Thee is the fountain of life.  In Thy light shall we see light."

(Psalm 36:9)

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding."

(Proverbs 9:10)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Therefore, my beloved brethren, by ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

(I Corinthians 15:58)