...so that we may walk in His paths

Beloved in the Lord,

Last Wednesday at the Contemplative Prayer Service, (7 to 8.30pm every Wednesday, all are welcome!) we read part of Isaiah chapter two. A line from verse 3 caught my attention:

He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.

I wonder what the paths of the Lord look like. Are they springy turf dotted with delicate wild flowers? Are they smoothly laid stones, so perfectly engineered that even a blade of grass cannot divide them? Or are the paths made of sparkling jewels-their value reduced to that of sand in the presence of the true glory we see in the face of God Almighty?

 I wonder how they feel under my feet. Does the feeling change from circumstance to circumstance? Here hard and unyielding-here soft and soothing?

I wonder how I find the paths of the Lord. Are they marked with signs? With blazes or stone cairns that show us: turn here, not that way, this way to the bridge…Or are they hidden paths that need a guide?

Isaiah tell us: He will teach us His ways SO THAT we may walk in His paths. God doesn’t want us to miss the path. Our heavenly park ranger wants us to follow his blazes. He wants us to find the gorgeous overlook, the valley of wild flowers, and the sparkling brook.

When Jamey and I went to Cooper’s Rock State Forest recently, we hiked the Raven’s Rock trail. It is a 3 mile hike round trip, of middling difficulty. The last quarter of the hike was a pretty steep incline. As we began it, another couple was coming down.

“Keep going!” they said, “It is worth it!” 

So we huffed and puffed our way up to the rocky top. We had to stop several times to catch our breath, drink some water and mop our faces. But at the end, we were rewarded with a sweeping view of the Cheat River Canyon. Even in the early Spring it was spectacular. Overwhelmed by the natural beauty, Jamey and I sang the Venite together in praise of our generous creator: “In his hands are all the depths of the earth, and the heights of the hills are his also.”

Sometimes the paths of the Lord will have us huffing and puffing. Sometimes they may be springy turf, other times they may be unyielding stone. We are never told that this journey with God will be easy. But He is here with us. Guiding us on the trail, encouraging us to “Keep going!” And rewarding us at the end with something so spectacular that the biblical writers strain to describe it. (John tries to describe his vision of the city of God in Revelation 21: “The wall was made of jasper and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.”)

I pray that each of you might see the blazes the Lord has left for you. God be with you on whatever journey you are on right now. May you follow Him to a future of endless glory.

Grace and peace,

Tracey+

O heavenly Father, you have filled the world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works; that, rejoicing in your whole creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.