PROMISE – OCT 2024
IN
THE PATH OF RIGTEOUSNESS
Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Beloved Children of
God, Our good God has graciously helped us to cross through nine months of this
year and step into a new month – October 24.
The Lord who has led us thus far as Ebenezer
will also lead us henceforth. Even
for this new month, the blessed word of promise which the Lord has given to us
is “God leads me in the path of
righteousness for his name sake” Amen! Well, as a sheep we all would expect
our shepherd to lead us into “green pastures” and “still waters”. These two experiences speak about a “life of
prosperity” and “life of peace”. Many a
time, we think this is all what we need in our life and we are content with the
same. But the Psalmist says that the
shepherd would also lead its flock or his sheep “in the path of righteousness”. If God is leading us, it should be a right
and a royal path only, right?
Pathway
of Life
Exo 12:41
And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the
selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the
land of Egypt.
Life is a journey, in
many ways. The children of Israel after they
were delivered from the Egyptian bondage were led by Moses on a journey towards
the Promised Land. It was truly a long and tedious journey. The Bible says, it took them nearly 40 years
to traverse the distance which they should have otherwise crossed in about 11
day time. Although the murmuring had
caused delay, the Lord God, according to his own divine purpose, chartered to
them a wilderness route map which included several difficulties and dangers. He
did not take them on an easy way or a short cut. By being their guide in the form of ‘pillar
of cloud’ and ‘pillar of fire’, he made sure that they do not miss the way.
Right
path or Ridiculous Path?
Num 21:4
And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the
land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the
way.
The joy and the
celebration of the people of Israel who exited Egypt with dreams of entering
into their new land were jettisoned when they encountered the great ‘Red Sea’
before them. The question was not just
about crossing a sea; it was about the enemies who were behind them. I suppose the phrase, “between the devil and the deep blue sea’ might have originated only
here. But we know that the Lord led
them in a miraculous way by parting the sea and making them walk as though on a
dry land. Even though God was making a way for them in wilderness, the Bible
says that people got distressed because of the way in which they were being led. Why he took them by that way? Was it the right way?
For
his name’s sake
Psa 145:17 The
LORD is righteous
in all his ways and holy in all his works.
All the ways of the
Lord may not be graspable or even palatable to us. But the Bible says that the
Lord can never go wrong in his ways. Here,
it is not just about his thoughts, plans or purposes, even the ways in which he
leads his people will be right.
When the Psalmist
speaks about his Lord, who he refers as is shepherd, he says that he will lead
me ‘in the path of righteousness for his
name sake’. What is meant by his
name sake? In simple words, he leads me
in the path of righteousness because of his name. Here, the name of God speaks about his nature. E.g., because he is a just God, he will lead
me in the just way; because he is a holy God, he will lead me in the holy way;
because is a loving God, he will lead me in the way of love. He cannot lead us
in a way which is contrary to his nature.
Lord Jesus Christ, our
Savior and the way to eternal life told his followers to take up their cross and
follow him (Luk 9:23). Yes. If you have
indeed accepted Jesus as your personal savior, you have to go by the way of
cross. In other words, way of sorrow and suffering for his namesake. But the
way of cross also leads us to a blessed destination – eternal life. Just as Paul
says, “I have fought a good fight. (meaning I have come by a way of intense struggle). But I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now, there is kept for
me a “Crown of righteousness” (2 Tim 4:7)
Three
Dimensions
Pro 12:28 In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.
The Bible says that
there is a way which seems right to man but the end thereof are ways of death
(Pro 14:12, 16:25) In other words, when
we walk in the ways of God, however complex or confusing it may seem to our
mind, we shall not suffer defeat or see death.
But if we discount the same to walk in ways which appear right to us,
then we may have to pay the price for it.
In the Garden of Eden, it seemed right for Eve to eat the fruit from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
But that was against the pronounced way of the Lord. We know what happened to her and Adam? They
fell into sin and were eternally separated from God.
Therefore, in life, we
must learn to not only distinguish between the ways of man and ways of God; we
also should choose to walk in the ways of God.
Even for our meditation for this month, we are going to look at three
ways or three paths of the Lord in which we should walk. We should pray for God’s grace and guidance
to not only know these ways but also walk in the same.
I would like to call it
as below
1. Excellent way (Truth
way)
2. Exclusive way (Even
way)
3. Everlasting way
(Eternal way)
1.
Excellent way (Truth way) – A prayer of submission
Psa_25:5
Lead me in your truth and
teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
What is truth? In Psalms 119:142, the Psalmist says, “Thy
righteousness is everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth”. Every commandment, precept, statute, counsel
and law of the Lord is the truth. A Child
of God should learn to walk not in the ways, which is pleasing to him/her, but
in the way of truth.
About Abraham the Lord
said to his son Isaac, “because Abraham
obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws
(Gen 26:5)” I will bless you and multiply your seed. Walking in the way of truth is nothing but
hearing his voice and obeying him.
Abraham became a friend of God only because of his obedience to
God. Moses became a deliverer for God
only because he obeyed God in everything. Unlike the personal encounters which
Abraham and others had with God, we may not receive ‘voice notes’ from the
Lord. The Word of God is his recorded
voice. The more we read, the more we should
apply our mind to it to walk in the truth. Just as there was a reward for
Abraham and his son Isaac for walking in the way of truth, we shall also
receive our rewards. Therefore, let us decide to not only know the way of truth
but also to walk in the same.
2.
Exclusive way (Even way) – A prayer of consultation
Psalm 27:11 Teach me
thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
A plain path or a level
path is what the Psalmist is praying about in this verse. What does it
mean? Barnes Notes on the Bible comments, ‘a way of plainness”. That is,
a straight or smooth path. In other
words, the Psalmist prays that he might be enabled to act wisely and
right. Yes, many a time, we need wisdom
and discretion, especially while dealing with our enemies. Being level headed, cool and composed while
dealing with our adversaries. Paul
specifically warns that we should be careful and vigilant to stand against the
‘craftiness’ of the evil one. He
emphasizes that our warfare is not against ‘flesh and blood’ but against unseen
spiritual forces. And the weapons of
warfare are also powerful enough to pull down the strongholds of satan (2 Cor
10:4). King David, the one who wrote this Psalm, demonstrated this many times
in his life. As a boy when he
volunteered to go for a one-on-one with the Giant Goliath, he did not go in the
usual way. He took the battle from the terrestrial to celestial level. He did not use spear or a sword but only a
sling. But the path he took was the even path which the enemies cannot
decipher. Many a time, when he wanted to
go against a particular enemy or go after a particular nation, he would not go
by the strength of his army, but would always enquire of the Lord. In life, many
times we get entrapped in ever so many debts, commitments and even wrong
relationships all because of our failure to seek God’s counsel before time. The
devil would entice by showing things which are unreal in getting into some
business decisions or even looking for an alliance. At every stage, in every critical juncture
of our life, we must learn the habit of seeking God’s counsel, God’s mind, and
God’s will on the matter. If we proceed
basis the same, then our path will really be smooth. Even if a storm may come
or a wind may blow, the Lord will still and make it calm for us. Hallelujah!
3.
Everlasting Way – A prayer of introspection
Psa 139:24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the
way everlasting!
What is an everlasting
way? A way that lasts forever or a way
which has no end. If you look at human
life, we do not live on this earth for ever and ever. Our life span is limited
and in the present era, at the most one may touch 90 and that too only
rarely. In the natural sense, every
think has an expiry date and nothing lasts forever. However, with regard to our
life, Lord Jesus promised that “if we believe in him, we shall eternal
life - a life without end”. This we will
not enjoy here but in heaven after we leave this earth, either through our
death or be caught up in rapture.
Once a rich young ruler
came and asked Jesus, “What should I do to attain eternal life?” Jesus said, you should keep all the
commandments of the law. The young man
submitted that he has been doing the same without fail. While commending him for the same, Jesus
said, there is just one more thing that you must do. He said, “Sell all your
wealth and distribute to the poor”.
Being a rich man, he did not expect such an answer from the Lord. He went back disappointed.
Jesus was not
introducing a new commandment or teaching a new doctrine about selling all our
wealth to give the poor. He was essentially
pointing out that it is not about how religious he was, it was all about how
responsive he is to the voice of God.
The young man was not only disappointed but he was totally disagreeable
to such proposition. But the Psalmist is
praying and pleading with God to search his heart and remove anything that
stands between him and eternal life.
We may be pious,
passionate and even people of tireless pursuit in serving the Lord. But is there
something missing? The Church at Ephesus had many accolades. Yet, God pointed out that she had lost her
first love. Through John the Apostle, , the
Lord brought to attention the short-comings of those end time churches. If they set things right, they will not miss
their crown.
Just as God was
gracious enough in revealing to that young man through Jesus or writing it down
through John the beloved, even today he will reveal to you the things that
which you should set right, surrender and shape up in your journey with the
Lord. Today, if you pray sincerely and
seek the face of the Lord, the Lord would surely reveal that “one” thing that you
should deal and rectify.
Lord
who leads
Our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ is not someone who just gives hands over a command, shows direction and
remains indifferent and disconnected at his end. He is not someone who doesn’t
bother when we are tottering in the middle of the sea. He wants to make you, mold you, guide you and
lead you in every walk of life.
Even as we get into a
new month, let us submit our plans, dreams and desires into his hands and ask
him to just lead us (and our children) in the path of his truth, in the path of
his counsel and in the path of his correction for his name’s sake.
Surely, he shall lead
and guide you continually
Thanking you,
Yours,
Vinod Kumar
God’s Shadow Ministries
