LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD; STICK TO THE PATH – 01/08/2021

LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD; STICK TO THE PATH
January 08, 2021

Prayer: Dear Lord, I want to follow You today and not get sidetracked. I am setting my heart and I trust You to help me.  Thank You.  Amen.

Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. Don’t get sidetracked. Proverbs 4:25-27 NLT

We welcome a new year. What has gone before is done and now we face what will come ahead–whether we think we are ready or not. For the Christ-follower this is not such a quandary. He who has never before failed me will not fail me in the coming days as I continue to follow Him. The “world” will seek to distract me and the best response to such distractions is what the Proverb writer said–keeping my eyes on what lies before me in the path God has laid out. Having marked out my path with what the Lord God shall put before my feet each day, I can then “stick to the path and stay safe.” It is the sidetracking that can be the problem.

In bygone days when I was a combat soldier in a jungle war, there were always interesting attractions to the left or the right of where we needed to go. The problem was that our enemy had dug and camouflaged pits and filled them with sharp sticks covered with poison and filth. In other places, there were explosive devices attached to interesting looking items that one might want to pick up. When one of us strayed from the marked safe path, no matter how interesting the item, the result was almost always death or serious injury.

For us who live in Christ, the world is that kind of place. Each day we must force our eyes to look beyond the glitter and gold we see and watch for the places our Lord wants us to go instead and engage with His purposes. In this way, we stay safe–for eternity’s sake.

Copyright Dan Elliott.  Email [email protected]