Devotional – God Guides Our Path

 “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” ( Psalm 119:105)

This morning I went to visit a friend. I had made the promise a long time ago and I didn’t want to put it off any longer. I was not very familiar with the area where she lived; I had been there only once before and so I decided to use the highly touted Google Maps as my guide. I am not the most tech-savvy person but that needs to change and so I decided that I needed to get more hands-on where the technology is concerned. 

I had originally planned to return the same way I came and so I reversed the information in the app and started out. On the way, however, I remembered that I needed to run an errand at a nearby location. It was a bit out of the way but it could be done, as I was already on the road and in the words of the popular Jamaican saying, I could ‘kill two birds with one stone’, working smarter, not harder, thus making life easier for myself.

So I diverted from the original route and made my way to the location. As I neared an intersection, preparing to turn left, Maps instructed me to turn right onto Washington Boulevard, which would have been the correct turn if I had decided to proceed to the original destination. I had changed my plans, however, and so I could not follow the direction given as I would not have been able to accomplish what I had in mind.

Immediately as this direction was given, I was hit by a sudden revelation. Often times we wander from the straight and narrow path which God intends for us to walk. We make decisions that are contrary to His plans for us and end up finding ourselves on a totally different path, which invariably, is fraught with many challenges. We take the wrong turns along the road of life and find ourselves far from centre, lost and bewildered, not knowing which direction to turn. 

But thankfully, we do not have to worry. Our Heavenly Father, our original Google Map, our present help in times of trouble, will gently guide us back to the right path. His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). If we are willing to listen to, and obey His voice, we can be redirected to the right path, even though we had gone off course and had drifted from the centre. 

My diversion from the intended was noted by my guide, Google Maps, and in its wisdom, it adjusted its instructional directions to get me back on the correct path. God, our ultimate all-knowing and all-wise Guide, notes when we stray and immediately puts plans into place to bring us back to where He wants us to be, at the centre of His will.

The choice is ours. We can choose to yield and obey, but we can also choose to resist and disobey, at our own peril. His promise to us is that if we acknowledge Him, He will direct our paths (Proverbs 3:6). Let us choose wisely.

Reflection

In what ways have I strayed from the correct path?

What has been my response when God has tried to redirect my path?

Prayer

Father help me to stay in step with you. Help me to trust in you so that you can order my steps. In the name of Jesus. Amen.