The Right Way
Jesus does not give us clear directions to all the places we will go, but He does give us direction for how to live each day.
‘Do not make idols...Observe my Sabbaths...If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit...I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid...I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelling place among you...I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people"
Leviticus 26:1-4, 6-7, 9-12, 40-42
It has been said that healthy relationships have healthy boundaries. The Bible is full of boundaries that God gives us for what will help and what will harm us and our relationships. You would not go up to a stranger and start telling them what to do without offending them. God is speaking to His people and He expects that they will receive His instructions through the lens of relationship.
Consider the promises that following God's guidance will unlock. Do you want to experience the blessings of peace, abundant provision, consistent prosperity, healthy procreation, and God's presence? Are you willing to set boundaries in your life to protect your relationship with God so that the path you walk is lined with His promises? What changes could you make to help enhance the depth of your relationship?
“The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion...What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people."
Psalms 116:5-7, 12-14, 17
David is at a loss. He is at a loss for words or actions that could appropriately praise God for all he has been given. He just starts singing out the truth that is on his heart like a love song. God's goodness to us is so perfect that we can be at a loss for where to start with our praise. Do we start by thanking for our present and eternal salvation? Do we praise the character of God? Do we praise Him for how He steers us from harm and helps us avoid going off the rails?
David responds with commitment. He declares that he will do what he has vowed to do. He says he is going to take one step in the direction of God's calling by doing the next right thing he knows to do. Sometimes we can get stuck. We can be uncertain of how to live out our faith. David models for us doing the next right thing and staying devoted to the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father. We might not know how things will work out in one year, five years, and fifty years, but do we know what we can do today? Is there anything you know you should do that you haven't done?
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good rewarded for theirs. All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death."
Proverbs 14:12, 14, 23, 27, 31
Wisdom tells us that there is a tension between following Jesus and following the ways of the world. One of the decisions we have to make is the direction of our lives. You have to have a vision for where you want to go before you can chart a path for how to get there. Where do you want to go? Can you picture being at the end of your life and looking backwards? What would you like your life to have been like? What is the impact you would like to have made and how would you like to have spent your minutes?
Odds are if we lived our lives with the end in mind then we would spend a lot less time on our phones, watching television, playing on social media, and holding on to offense. Tim McGraw sang a song about living like He was dying. He said, "I loved deeper, I spoke sweeter, and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying." Jesus says people will know that we follow Him by how we love. God says that there are ways in which we live that can unlock love in our lives with Him and with our community. Will you follow His directions for how to love so that the path you travel will direct you to where you want to end up? Transformation starts today. Too many people put off love to tomorrow.
“In those days, at that time,” declares the Lord, “the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the Lord their God...They will come and bind themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten. In those days, at that time,” declares the Lord, “search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare."
Jeremiah 50:4-5, 20, 31, 33-34
God knows everything. He knows we have a tendency to go our own way and that we can be tempted to take the broad path to destruction. The beauty of His unconditional love is that He welcomes His people back with open arms. The moment we turn to Him, the moment we seek Him, right then we find mercy.
The text does not say God forgave the people because they earned it or because they lived perfectly. It says that God chose to forgive us out of His great love for us. Paul says in Romans that while we were sinners Christ died for us. Where do you need to receive the loving mercy and tender forgiveness of your Heavenly Father?
“There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying...He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe...He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!”
Acts 28:7-9, 23-24, 26-28, 30-31
Do you ever wish God would tell you what is going to happen each day and lay out the roadmap for the next several years so you did not have to walk with such uncertainty? Don't we love control? Don't we want to know how things are all going to work out and get to have the say for how things are done?
Paul models following Jesus by doing each day what He is called to do for the person right in front of Him without knowing how everything is going to work out nor knowing where He will be sent. Paul likely cannot even communicate with the Islanders, yet he shows God's love for them by praying for the sick. Often following Jesus involves meeting people where they are and loving them how they need to be loved. For the people in Rome who know the Scriptures, Paul eloquently shares the truths of the whole Bible. He meets them where they are.
Have you ever considered that God is more concerned with directing you to people than giving you directions to a comfortable place? God promises us that He will give us peace, provision, and His presence. We can stand on those. The fulfillment of those promises is found in following Jesus in the present moment and choosing to trust that He is the Way, the right way to eternal life. Who will Jesus send you to today? Will you let God direct your words, actions, and attitude so your life directs each person you meet to Jesus that they too can find the way?