He Will Direct Your Path

Make me to know Your ways, O LORD;
 teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
 for You are the God of my salvation;
 for You I wait all the day long.
Psalm 25:4-5

This is another key verse for Summit 2. If you are reading this and don't know what the Summit is, it is a quarterly worship experience at my church (Lancaster Community Church). I have the honor as Worship Director of LCC to coordinate this worship event. The first one absolutely blew me away. God revealed Himself to us in the time we spent together that night, and we responded with hearts surrendered to Him in praise. It is a moment I will never forget. Summit 2 is coming up and so I'm spending the next couple of weeks blogging about the concepts we'll be covering at our event which has the theme, The Journey: Every Step is Praise.

This Psalm took on even more meaning for me today as I was sitting at my parent's house gazing out into the woods while my boys played nearby. I saw this gorgeous flower on the edge of the woods (I've had an intense fondness for flowers as long as I can remember). The flower had dark, rich green foliage and then this burst of tiny white flowers in a globular shape at the tip of the stem. Really breathtaking (if you're into that sort of thing). I stepped off the porch and walked closer to the base of the hill so that I could get a closer look and as I came closer, I realized that there were a few more behind it, and then several more behind that cluster, and then I realized that a great majority of that section of the forest was densely dotted with these beautiful flowers. But I had to walk a ways to view the full splendor of the scene before me.

This made me think about how our journey with God plays out. We get this beautiful glimpse that propels us to continue on, and then with each step closer to Him, we see even more. We respond with adoration and thanks to each attribute He reveals and each glorious interaction with Him. This ties in so nicely with Psalm 25:4-5. So often we think that knowing God or studying the Bible is difficult, but we have to understand that He leads us each individually and at the pace that He knows is best for us. He reveals to us what needs to be revealed, when it needs revealed. He's never going to lead us into more than we can handle and we can trust His path because His understanding of the future is complete. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path."

The most important thing to understand about the Christian journey is that He is the one guiding us and He knows where we've been, where we are, and where we are going. Externally, God leads us by His word while internally, His Spirit guides and teaches us in all situations...IF we will surrender and allow that to happen. And when we do surrender and allow Him to lead us instead of charging ahead like an insolent child, we see His beauty and glory revealed in ways that we could never experience without Him. For some of us, we're just at the start of the journey catching a glimpse of the beauty ahead while others of us are climbing into the most beautiful territory we've ever seen. Still others are hanging on, vicariously grasping the rocky precipices, holding on for dear life. But all the while, no matter what stage of the path, He is leading us. And that is all that we need to know for our journey. 

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

Psalm 32:8