The Right Path - Martin Wiles

There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. Proverbs 14:12 NLT

The path seemed just right for me.

My grandmother’s house nestled itself just a short distance from my aunt’s home, both connected by a winding path well worn by an almost constant stream of foot traffic. I loved staying with my grandparents in their old farmhouse—sitting on their wrap-around porch, listening to the crickets after the sun settled in for the night. And I also loved visiting my aunt. Her youngest son trumped me by just three months.

Many were the days when I’d trudge from my grandmother’s house to my cousin’s house so we could play together. We were country boys living in a period before technology had overrun kids’ imaginations. My feet helped further wear down a path already cut deep by relatives and friends. Every time I walked the path, a smile creased my face as I thought about the fun I would soon have with my cousin or the good meal I’d eat at my grandmother’s house. He was a master of make-believe games, and she was a chef superb of low country South Carolina meals.

The path between my grandparents’ and aunt’s house was a good path, but I’ve taken some paths that weren’t. Paths that led to bad decisions … or unhealthy relationships. Paths that took me further than I wanted to go … and took me longer to get back from than I cared for.

Solomon was right. A path does exist that appears right, but it doesn’t end where we want it to. Jesus spoke of the same kind of path hundreds of years later. He called them narrow and broad paths and said most people choose the broad path—the one that leads to destruction.

The death Solomon speaks about and the destruction Jesus says the broad path leads to is spiritual death … eternal separation from a loving God who wants all people to have a relationship with Him. But traveling these paths also leads to death even while I’m living. The kind of death that brings a famine. I don’t enjoy life as God intends for me to experience.

Saying there is only one way to heaven may be politically incorrect, but that’s the message of the Bible. Believe in Jesus … or else. God has created no other way. Sin separates us from Him, but repentance brings us into a relationship with Him.

Make sure the path you’re walking leads you to God.

Prayer: Father, we thank You for making a path we can walk that leads us to You and to abundant life.

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Walking the Straight Path - Martin Wiles

Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Proverbs 4:26 NLT

Somewhere between time and eternity lay a path. 

Not a lengthy one, but an important one. One connecting my grandparents’ house with my aunt and uncle’s.

I’ve walked many paths in my lifetime, but none as amazing. The sights from this trail didn’t compare to some I’ve seen from other footpaths, but this path ingrains itself in my memory, unlike the others.

Paths are formed by heavy foot traffic, and this one had its share: my grandparents, my aunt, my uncle, my three cousins, my family when we visited, and anyone else who happened by. My aunt, uncle, and cousins imprinted more steps than anyone else.

But one by one, the hundreds of footsteps meandering over the path diminished. When my aunt died, the long line of family members who had walked the path disappeared.

The path connecting these two homes was fairly straight—like the one wise King Solomon suggested people walk. But for him, straight had a different meaning.

Straight paths have nothing to do with whether the path has curves. Of course, the shortest distance between two points will occur when the line connecting them is straight. But straight in a theological sense has to do with morality—what’s right and wrong. A straight path follows God’s commands and principles.

Straight paths lead us to holiness—God’s desire for His children. Our bodies temple His Spirit. He wants us to represent Him well in our thoughts, attitudes, and actions.

Walking a straight path takes effort. Perhaps the reason why Solomon issues the command in an imperative sentence. Our sinful nature—with which we’re born—will lead us down a crooked path of disobedience. Only with intentionality will we mark out a straight path. 

The path connecting my relatives’ house was well worn and stayed that way until people stopped traversing it. God will make His path for us evident if we ask. His Word gives direction, yet distractions are ever present on this righteous path. They were on the path I walked. The main one was two grape arbors that called me to stop and consume.

Life’s distractions aren’t always sinful—just not in God’s plan for our lives. With the leading of God’s Spirit, we can avoid the distractions that lead us from the path God desires we walk.

Mark out a straight path for your life—and follow it.

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Prayer: Father, show us the path You desire us to walk, and then give us grace to follow it. 

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Staying on the Path - Martin Wiles

My steps have stayed on your path; I have not wavered from following you. Psalm 17:5 NLT

Some paths lead nowhere.

My brother and I once hiked in Panthertown Valley, just outside of Cashiers, North Carolina. Although a beautiful place, it is confusing. The map I purchased at a local hiking store didn’t help. The trails through the valley are evident, but they aren’t blazed as most places we had hiked were.

Choosing the trial we wanted to hike, we launched out for a day of enjoyment—until we summited a mountain and the trail suddenly ended. Going back the way we came was an option, but a long one. I consulted the map and my compass and selected another way. The way involved bushwhacking down the side of a mountain—and a lot of uncertainty about whether we were going the right way—but we finally made it back to the main path that led out.

Walking on a well-worn path where tree blazes are evident is more comforting. Having a book that describes the trail and what I should observe along the way is an added help. Wavering from the path leads to getting lost—not something I’m interested in doing. Neither was the psalmist. His steps remained on God’s path. He had no desire to waver from it.

God’s main path leads to heaven. He wants everyone on it. The way to get on it and stay on it is simple: believe Christ paid for my sins, ask for His forgiveness, and obey His commands. Seems simple enough, until I face temptations and trials that attempt to cover the path. But God is faithful and will keep the path in plain view if I remain close to Him.

God’s path for my specific circumstances is not always so clear. Following what He wants me to do at any given time—in relationships, employment, career, college, finances—challenges my faith.

While the path to heaven never changes, the path for what God desires I do may change numerous times over my lifetime. Staying on the path takes effort, but God provides the means to do so. By praying—not just repeated words I toss out before I go to sleep—by knowing biblical principles, and by listening to the opinions of spiritually mature friends, I can remain on God’s path for me.

God never intends to hide His path from you. Just ask, and He will always make it plain.

Tweetable: Where is your path leading you?

Prayer: Father, make Your path clear for us, and then give us the faith to walk it fearlessly. 

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Flashback Friday - The Right Path - Martin Wiles

The Right Path

The path meandered between my aunt and grandmother’s houses. I walked it often because I had a direction in mind, and because it was the shortest distance between those two points. Had it not led where I intended to go, I would have ignored it.

Andy Stanley says, “Direction—not intention--determines destination.” Read more...

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Throwback Tuesday - Martin Wiles

Walking the Path

“Do black bears walk paths?” Perhaps a silly question to ask Google, but obviously I wasn’t the first to ask it to an internet search engine.

Certainly they do. Why wouldn’t they? Just as it’s easier for a person to walk a mountain trail than climb up and down the side of a mountain through crawling rhododendron and grasping laurel, so it’s easier for a bear to walk a trail as well. No grass, vines, or entangling underbrush. Surging roots are possibly the only thing to contend with. So the feeling of comfort I initially had that walking the trail would diminish my chances of encountering a bear didn’t hold water after all. Read more...

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