The first article of the creed of the frontier is to be game. Good or bad, the last test of a man is the way he takes his medicine.”
–William MacLeod Raine (Crooked Trails and Straight)
“There are thorns and snares on the path of the crooked; the one who guards himself stays far from them.”
–Proverbs 22:5 (HCSB)
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“Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom; Lead thou me on.
The night is dark, and I am far from home; Lead thou me on.
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene–one step enough for me.”
–John H. Newman
Have you ever been walking along a path, looking down the trail or maybe along the scenery to the side, and all of a sudden you catch your toe on a rock or root and begin a headlong tumble? Perhaps you have done something similar at work or at home and put something on your calendar looking forward to it and forgot to do the duties of the day. I have known teachers who so looked forward to summer vacation that they didn’t fulfill their responsibilities the last month of the school year. Shame! Nowadays, most folks are looking down, but not at the trail, but at the phone in their hand. Do you think your soul could be in the shame situation? Let’s look at the first part of Psalm 25 (HCSB).
1 – LORD, I turn my hope to You.
2 – My God, I trust in You. Do not let me be disgraced; do not let my enemies gloat over me.
3 – Not one person who waits for You will be disgraced; those who act treacherously without cause will be disgraced.
4 – Make Your ways known to me, Lord; teach me Your paths.
5 – Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I wait for You all day long.
6 – Remember, LORD, Your compassion and Your faithful love, for they have existed from antiquity.
Right now, if one looks at the media, it would seem that those who mock God and the truth of His Word are sitting there gloating with a sneer on their faces. The question is!”, if you find yourself in that situation where you enemy seems to be gloating are you looking up to the Lord? Are you trusting in Him?
It is in times like these that we truly need the direction of the Lord. I really like the way verse 4 is stated, “Make!” Sometimes in life we must be made to do things. We need for the Lord to “make His ways known to us. We want to know the right direction, yet sometimes we refuse to walk there. It is in the fog or battle that we cannot see the way, the path becomes unclear and we need for the Lord to make us take the next step.
One other aspect I see in this verse is that of a trainer. Sometimes we need to be made to do something and then there are those times that we need to be trained to do it ourselves. I am personally brought back to basic training. Train me how to use my weapon, train me how to follow commands, train me how to make use of my equipment, train me how to be alert. How do we use our weapons? We are told to put on the armor and hold the sword. But then what?
Our responsibility here is to take the next step; to call out to the Lord and put our trust in Him. Are you doing what you are supposed to be doing–today? Are you obedient today? I like what Samuel Amnesley said, “Do what you know to be your present duty, and God will acquaint you with your future duty.”