Lisa opens this chapter with the fact that there is only one native, North American, all-purpose sword. The machete is widely used for very practical purposes. It isn’t pretty, or delicate. It is made to be used for hard work, for clearing a path to walk on, to insure safety, as a tool for many purposes, and even food preparation.
With this sword in mind, it made me think of our sWord. It isn’t pretty or delicate. It takes hard work to apply the truth inside to our lives. It will put us on a clear path, insure our safety and serves many purposes. Did you know there are even food preparation instructions in our sWord?
As I began preparing for this lesson, I began thinking about my childhood, growing up in the country in East Tennessee. We lived on a gravel/dirt road. We lived on a hill in the middle of other bigger hills and the woods were our playground. The flatland was farmed for vegetables or hay. We looked for paths to guide us through the woods, up safe places in the banks to get home (shortcuts), to see where other people had walked before us. We found all kinds of treasure along the way.
Some of the paths we cleared ourselves, mostly we followed the path other people had mashed down before us. The path led to an adventure others had walked before us. Sometimes we encountered snakes and critters, but always plants and berries and flowers…and bugs. These paths were meant to be walked on and enjoyed.
If we did not walk those paths often, they became overgrown and we would have to clear them again. We would have to break the intrusive branches and beat down the growth blocking our path. Sometimes trees fell across our path and we would have to get very creative to clear it, or jump over. That tree became a signpost at that point. Even the fallen trees can be used as something good in the woods.
The paths in the hay fields led me to another thought. These paths often had tractors or trucks on them to help haul the baled hay out of the field. We walked on the path, the machines drove on our paths. These paths ended up with deep ruts in them. Ruts will cause you to stumble and fall. They will keep you in the groove of the tire track much longer than you would like to be. It is much harder to get out of a rut than walk a smooth path or even forge your own new path.
If we ever went on these deeply rutted paths, we were there for a specific purpose. We were headed out for work and we planned appropriately. We put on sturdy shoes, wore long sleeves and pants, took water jugs and food, gloves for our hands, hats for our heads and knew we were about to encounter some hard work. We were there to harvest the hay. We had to take care of ourselves and make good choices or we would end up scratched up, hurt, and dehydrated.
Much like these work days from my youth, I have to prepare for special days when I know I am going to have to negotiate the “ruts” in my life. There are especially hard “work days” when it is time to cultivate, plant, tend, or harvest areas of my life. If I truly want a harvest, I have to do the hard work first. Lazy bones do not lead to a bountiful harvest.
This week in our reading, we are going to address finding our paths, staying on our paths, re-opening old, neglected paths, changing our environments, and managing a harvest. There will even be talk about identifying and managing the dangers that pop up in our lives. The Word of God addresses these very things for us. If we choose God’s path for our lives, He will lead us to a journey of adventure like no other.
I can’t start the week off without Scripture, so here are a few of the “path” references I found:
Deuteronomy 5:33 Stay on the path … (Then a promise from God)
Psalms 1:6 The Lord watches over the path of the godly, the path of the wicked leads to destruction.
2 Samuel 22:29 God, your light floods my path, God drives out the darkness
Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths
1 Kings 2:1-4 MSG Do what God tells you. Walk in the paths He shows you.
There are many other instances in the Bible where the writers talk of their path and God’s path. Please take some time to look them up and really think about them. God provided a dry path for the Israelite’s to cross an active river, Job talked about his path a LOT, the Psalms are full of guidance about being on the right path (especially Psalm 32).
Lisa tells us, “According to Psalms and Proverbs, there are ultimately only two paths in this course of life: one that ascends to light and life, and another that descends to darkness and death. There is no middle way. The choice seems obvious…choose God’s way to light and life. But there are seasons in life when we need some extra light in order to choose the right path” (page 142).
At some point in your life, you will find yourself with a choice. Which path will you take? I urge you to get to know the Leader, follow His path, and enjoy the journey. Everything you experience may not be easy, but when you reach your destination, you will be amazed at what the Father has brought you through. Some of us were on the right path and wandered off into the rough. Don’t give up! Find your way back to the path God laid out for you and continue walking. Maybe you were never on a godly path. Stop now and ask God to put you on His path, and direct you in the direction He wants you to go.
At this stage in my life, I am appreciating additional light when I need to read small print. God’s Word says He will shine a light for us to see. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” John 8:12. Jesus is the best Leader you will ever follow. Let Him carry the machete and clear your path. He has a plan that is best for you. Ask Jesus to prove Himself. He wants to LOVE you.
Let’s Pray:
Father God, You know the plans You have for us. You know the path for me. I am submitting my will to Yours. Place my feet on that path and teach me to walk in Your ways. As I learn to live for You, may my light shine brightly for all to see and lead them to You, Lord. Thank You for the Light of the World. We no longer have to walk in darkness. You promised us the Light that leads to LIFE. Thank You for the women walking this path with me. Let me ever be an encourager to a friend, a stranger, or a fellow human who needs help up out of the rut. We are following the LEADER. AMEN.
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About Teresa Bolme
Amen Teresa! We can be confident in the Path we walk when we allow God to lead us. He will not lead us astray. I find such peace and hope, and joy in following His path because I know he will always lead us down the right path. It may not be easy sometimes, but when you have the assurance that God is in control the choices and decisions we make become easier. Wonderful Blog Teresa! What a blessing 🙂
Confidence is KNOWING who is holding your hand while on the path. Thanks for reading
Love the pink font:) BUT really, I needed these words today T. I desire so strongly to be on God’s path for me, now that I know God has a path for me, I want to embrace our walk together. And, I love Psalm 25:4-5 Show me your ways, O Lord teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God my Savior and my hope is in you all day long. This is a moment by moment prayer for me.
God showed something to me while I read this and I feel led to share. Matthew 7:13-14 states “Wide is the gate and path that lead to destruction but narrow is the gate and path that leads to life.” With this in mind, the path to life becomes harder to find the less we travel on it. Over time, it will become more and more overgrown with weeds and such and before we know it, we have completely lost our way and need His light to lead us back to His path that leads to life. Such a wonderful book and blog. Thank you so much. I have been really blessed in this study.
Teresa, great way to start the week–talking about paths, specifically His path for us! Thank you for including all of the Scriptures. His Word is truly the light for our path. I have a flashlight app on my phone which will light a dark room if I turn it on. But that room will remain dark and hard to navigate if I don’t turn that flashlight on. It is the same in my life. It is hard to navigate without the light of His Word to illuminate my way. I need to “turn it on” everyday if I want to walk the path He has planned for me.
On pg 140 Lisa says, “Paths and journeys have purpose. Sometimes arriving too quickly is detrimental. It is dangerous to arrive without our character mature or intact. Character and strength often come through staying the course.” Then she refers to Prov 20:21, ‘An inheritance obtained too early in life is not a blessing in the end.” I hadn’t really thought about this before, but taking the shortcut path in life seems at the moment like a good thing but in the long run what we really need is to follow the path God has set before us. It probably will be longer but it will be the best.
thank you, teresa, for simply laying the truth out there…i love the paragraph where you wrote about ‘choice.’ praying for all of us that TODAY we will choose to remain on the path that the Lord is directing us along. we don’t need to worry about tomorrow…just be focused on today.
(and thanks for the encouragement sung by chris rice! we HAVE the light of Christ! “carry your candle, run to the darkness, seek out the helpless, deceived and poor; hold out your candle for all to see it. take your candle, and go light your world!”)
thanks for highlighting “path” and the scriptures you included
I love the message that you gave us today Teresa. I love how you used your paths of adventure to relate to our path that God has chosen for each one of us. There may be ruts in God’s chosen path for our lives but he is always there for us. It is amazing how the Lord cleans out the path before us. Living a Christian Life is not easy!! We may stumble but the Lord gets us back on the straight and narrow. He provides the light for our path while the world’s way only leads to destruction and darkness. Help us Lord to keep our eyes on you so we can navigate through life!!
I love envisioning God’s Word as a machete. How sharp a machete is. How sharp the Word of God is! In reading this blog today, I am reminded of an older Amy Grant song: “Thy Word” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs-aiQ9NZ1g
Today, as we reflect on “paths” I would like to mention those who were affected by the tornado path through Moore OK today. Our hearts and prayers are with you. May God be with you all, in Jesus’ Name, AMEN!
I can’t type pretty and delicate without using your favorite color. 😀 Your heart blesses me so much.
I enjoyed your story on the farm, Teresa. I, too, grew up on a farm and it just clicks with me as I relate it to harvesting in the Bible. Never quite put the machete there, but I do remember my dad using a weed slinger. Great points and as always, it is scriptures that brings it on home.