by Dona Hake
Psalm 23:3 (VOICE)
“He makes me whole again,
steering me off worn, hard paths
to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name.”
“He makes me whole again,
steering me off worn, hard paths
to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name.”
I remember the day that I surrendered my life to the Lord. I can still remember how I could feel the weight of my sin taken off of my back, and all of a sudden everything seemed to make sense. I saw everything differently around me. For the first time I felt whole, and it was a wonderful feeling. I saw light, and I felt free! I knew I no longer needed to live in fear, I had a purpose, and from that day forward the Lord has been faithful to lead, and guide me paths that truly echo His Name.
As I meditate upon this scripture I am thinking about how I have been serving Him for forty three years, and He has been so good to me. He continues to forgive me and wipe my sins as far as the east is from the west. I praise Him for the wonderful gift of His blood that was shed for me. Everyday I thank Him for His grace that is there for me to draw upon.
There has been many times we can all relate to making wrong decisions that may have caused us pain or some sort of consequence. Wrong decisions can throw you off of the divine path that He has ordered for us. Oh that we would purpose to learn and grow from every mistake we make, and oh that we would keep humble and pliable hearts. It is when one hardens their heart that their path becomes a rut, and one becomes weary. Worn and hard paths are those that have developed because of doing the same thing over and over again. The Lord cannot bless those paths nor will He try to make them work for you. God is calling us to allow Him to step in and guide us on the paths of His desire for us. He is calling us to get out of any “ruts” in our lives.
Today may I challenge your heart to think about that maybe you have allowed yourself to wrong thinking that has become a “rut” in your spiritual walk. Maybe you have walked the path of a habitual worrier. Maybe your worn, hard path has been one of constantly walking in fear and anxiety over your future. Regardless of what it is we can make the choice to walk on the path that is guided by His hand. His hand deals only in truth and right things. His path does not make provision for us to walk in our own ability but rather draw upon His. God’s Word, His voice, counsel, wisdom, and the leading of His Holy Spirit is our compass in this life.
Let us look to His way, His paths, and we can live a life that is blessed because when we are walking hand in hand with Him. May our paths be paths that echo His loving Name, and may they be a testimony of His love and goodness to everyone around us!