October 4

Oct 4 - Today from Proverbs 4 we look at verse 26
"Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm." (NIV)
"Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established." (KJV)

The Hebrew word for make level in the NIV and ponder in the KJV is 'palac'. The literal translation indeed means to roll flat as to prepare a road. The broader interpretation came to mean to mentally weigh something. Thus you get two different translations of the same verse which serves to add dimension to its meaning. It works well because the short verse serves as a sort of parable.
We cannot physically see the path of life on which we travel - but it is just as real as the road I drive on to get to work every day. That road is a physical plane that serves to get me from here to there. The path of life also serves to get me from here to there. Those who listen to the 'voice of wisdom' can pretty well determine where they are at in life and in what direction they need to go in order to mature in life. Because the path of life is not a physically tangible object, choosing the course can often pose a challenge to us. It becomes further complicated because our way may not always be the best route to get from here to there. In fact, I am convinced that our way is seldom the route God has determined. Wisdom may have revealed where we are, and wisdom may have determined where we are to go, but it is faith that determines the route. We are to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).
Often the path our Father determined leads us through pain, peril and perceived failure. That is not the path any person in their right mind would choose. We would think that the 'path of righteousness' would take us around and over such things. Yet Psalm 23 teaches that the Good Shepherd actually leads us through the valleys of the shadow of death. Why would He do such a thing? Because the path we are on is a path to spiritual maturity. God is not nearly as concerned for our career as He is our character.
We best learn and grow through adversity. We gain 'spiritual muscle' when we are placed in situations where we must exercise our faith. We may not always enjoy the school of life in which we find ourselves, but if we apply ourselves we will learn valuable lessons about ourselves and about God that we could never possibly learn if things always went the way we wanted. We learn about unconditional love; about patience; about perseverance; about trust; about compassion; about grace; about mercy - the list goes on and on. As we walk by faith down the path of life we begin to develop skills of pondering our steps. We learn from our perceived failures. Any failure we learn from has great value, for it has served to advance us in the way of maturity. People who have not yet greatly failed are people who have not yet greatly grown. When a more mature person wants to move from here to there, he realizes that what might first appear to be the most practical direct route may not be the proper route. He ponders the move. He factors in what was learned from past failures and makes any needed corrections in his processing. He waits to hear the Shepherd's voice, "Place your foot here, and carefully move ahead." As the obedient servant moves forward, step by step in a route he would never have personally chosen, he looks up one day and marvels at the place where he finds himself. 'There' is now 'here', and wisdom contemplates where the next 'there' is. That is the path of life. It is a marvelous journey of faith.
People who set and strive for their own goals in life miss life all together. They may find some temporary satisfaction in their self-serving accomplishments, but when they finally arrive at the 'there', they discover that there must be more. Seventy or eighty years seems like a long time from the first 'here', but it seems like nothing at all from the last 'there' - unless the last there is right where the Shepherd led you. From there He has prepared you for eternity. From there this life makes sense after all.
For those of you who are reading this and have no idea what I am talking about . . . seek to know and hear the Shepherd's voice today. He will set you on a path that will establish your life. It will not always be pleasant, but it will be worth every step. He even takes our failures and turns them to good. He is amazing!