“He leads me in paths of righteousness for His names’ sake.” Psalm 23:3
Every day each one of us makes numerous choices. Most of those choices are inconsequential. However, some choices are life changing for us. So, if we choose wisely, most likely we will benefit from it. If we choose poorly though, it will probably come back to bite us.
Sometimes choices can be very difficult. That’s when indecision can take hold of us, causing us a great deal of stress. It’s like we’re a ping pong ball, being hit back and forth from one side of the net to the other.
In his letter, James put this a little differently. He wrote, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind”. (James 1:6) He then writes, “He is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways” (v8).
In the New Testament Greek the word for “unstable” (akatastatos), means “unsettled”, “one who cannot be restrained”, “unruly”, and even “staggering”, like a drunk. My point with this is that, when we cannot choose, when we are indecisive, we stagger through that decision and are left unsettled. Sound familiar?
There is a phrase in verse 3 of Psalm 23 that offers a solution to such staggering. It reads, “He leads me in paths of righteousness for His names’ sake.” (v3) Basically this is telling us that our Good Shepherd needs to take the lead in our life so that we stay on the path He wants us to take.
Obviously, because of our human (sinful) nature, it can be quite a struggle for us to let the Lord take the lead in our life and actually follow Him. It is so much easier for us to trust in ourselves, in our world, our society, and our friends, rather than to trust in the Lord.
When we do this though, we are behaving just like sheep. We are wandering away from our Shepherd, going our own way and doing what is right in our own eyes. This of course leads to sin. When we choose to walk down that path, that is when we start to get tossed around by the wind and waves. We become “unstable”, “unsettled”, “stumbling” and “staggering” like a drunk. This makes it impossible for us to know our Shepherd and follow His lead in our life.
What needs to happen in our daily living is for us to place our complete trust in our crucified and risen Lord and Savior. Isaiah wrote, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – everyone – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Is 53:6). Yes, we all have gone our own way and sinned more times than we can count. But our Shepherd took every last one of those sins onto Himself and paid the penalty for them on the cross. This is the great truth that we need to cling to and to trust in. God’s grace is real! God’s forgiveness is real! God’s peace in our life is real! This is not just a doctrine, a teaching. This is real life living in the presence of our Shepherd. This is having an authentic relationship with Christ Jesus that affects how we live each day. This is where we learn to follow Him down that path that He wants us to take.
In John’s Gospel Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27). Therefore, ask yourself, do you truly know the voice of your Shepherd? Are you following Him down those paths of righteousness? And remember, the choices you make everyday will show you whose lead you are following.
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you,
Keith Enko