====Guarded Path====
 
Prov 2:6-9
“For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just  and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Then you will understand what is right and just and fair — every good path.”
 
On  a  “guys weekend out,” our little band of brothers headed up into the high country of the Trinity Alps of Northern California.   It was a brutal, steep,  6 mile hike.   We carried loaded backpacks on a climb gaining 3,500 feet.   I found myself faint, exhausted, and asking God for the strength to make the journey.

About half way up, we started walking in snow.  Several times we lost the trail, because it was covered with a cold,  white blanket.   We encountered the need for wisdom, asking, ”Which is the right way?”     We always managed to get back on the main trail somehow, with God’s help, but only after blazing a new and fresh path.

So it is……the ascent to higher spiritual places with Jesus is marked with a trail left by the saints who have gone before us.   Many are the people of faith who have made the quest, announcing their discovery of God as their victory, their shield, the one who guards the course.      They have left signs and footprints that are helpful for our journey.

Sometimes, however, the trail for us is hidden by the snowfalls of contemporary circumstances.    The media, worldwide suffering,  relational struggles, materialism, sin……the list is as long as the individual snowflakes which contribute to the snowy obstacles that each of us encounter on the journey.    The next step is always one of faith, especially when the path is temporarily unclear.

Jesus is  the only way (John 14:6), and only He can lead us safely on this hike of faith. Yet,  even through confusing terrain,  He sometimes takes us on a quest  full of new opportunities which require  blazing a trail into new and uncharted places,  with the blessing of fresh scenery and a whole new perspective.  Victory, new understanding, and  wisdom at higher places come through trusting Him step by step.

Whether this faith  journey takes me  through territory common to those who have gone before, or perhaps launches me into new places with a creative stride;  whether placing my feet in the footsteps of past heroes of the faith or breaking new trails through the snowpack of our day, where HE leads I will follow.    That is a good, right, and guarded  path.

1 Peter 2:21….”To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

Heb 12:1-2….”Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses , let us throw off  everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

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