People often take vacation trips in the Summers. Today we have a lot of things that make trips more enjoyable than they used to be. I once found a letter from the old Taylor family that had settled here in Pinellas County. It was about going from Largo to Tampa to buy their provisions before there were shopping centers here. It was in that time before there were causeways across Tampa Bay. It was a long all day round trip by horse drawn buggy over the north end of the bay. I’ve enjoyed those movies about settlers moving West by wagon trains a century and a half ago. I can’t imagine families traveling under those primitive and dangerous conditions. They often had a guide who knew the way and how to survive till they got to their destinations.
Today we have things to help us enjoy the trip while we travel. We take for granted having good maps on our phones and dashboard displays. They even show us different ways to get where we’re going. They tell us the mileage and how long it will take on each path. We listen to music and can keep up with the weather and news. We even have cup racks built into our more comfy cars. When I was little we had portable am radios that faded in and out on long trips, so we fought boredom by counting cows and out of state license plates. But we did our best to enjoy getting to where we were going. It’s good when the trip along the way can be part of the fun.
Our journey through this life ought to be enjoyable too. Heaven will be great beyond our comprehension. But God intends that we should begin enjoying his blessings now while we serve him here. Psalm 37:23-24 tells us, “The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.”
There’s a way of God. He tells us how we’re to live while we’re here on earth.We’re told how to run our homes, businesses, churches, and communities. These are ways he blesses, paths that are designed to be truly enjoyable for us along the way.
To the ungodly these ways God tells us about aren’t appealing at all. They want to feed their desires in ways that fit their fallen perception of things. But the believer can’t be comfortable with self-centered ways when he learns they’re wrong. As he grows in Christ and learns what God says in His word, he more and more comes to enjoy the things that delight God as he lives out each day.
God reveals this enjoyable way in his word. The Bible is our map, our instructions and our comfort along the way. We’re so blessed in our part of history to have copies of these guidelines. We can read them any time we want.
This verse is about those who take steps that follow in God’s way. The word translated “man” is “geber” (גבר). It means a strong person, a hero or conqueror. That’s what we are when we travel through life honoring God as his redeemed child. We bravely resist the wrong paths the world offers, and take God’s path.
“Established” is the Hebrew word “cun” (כון) which means to be made firm, to stand up straight. The strong are made able to stand firmly when they’re blessed by God who directs them by his word. Those who walk in the way God tells us to walk are established on a sound foundation. But those who don’t live by the principles God reveals will not enjoy the trip.
One thing that can make you not enjoy a trip is if you get on the wrong road. We’ve probably all gotten lost at times. There have been a few occasions where I’ve ended up driving through a rather dangerous looking neighborhood by mistake. We face serious distress along our daily walk if we fail to follow the path God lays out.
The walk of obedience and love is a delightful journey. When we stand bravely on God’s solid foundation and follow his path, we know we’re honoring the God who loves us so much, and that we’re living the way God created us and redeemed us to live. There are blessings attached to having godly thoughts and doing godly things.
May God open our eyes and hearts to behold his glory revealed all around us all the times. Every person we talk with or are with during the day is an opportunity to encourage them with God’s promises he’s recently led us to study in his word. Treasure every friend you are with or chat with on-line. Every mile you walk or ride in your car is watched over by our Heavenly Father.
All around us are displays of the wonders of our Creator: The beautiful trees, plants, squirrels, birds, people, stars, sun, moon, waters, clouds, and even the electronic devices we often take for granted: our phones, computers, TVs, and so on. We now have amazing devices to explore the universe around us beyond what we see with our naked eyes. Those who use these space probes and high resolution space searching devices show us that our Milk Way is just one of many galaxies. Some estimate 2 trillion of them. In our own galaxy there are many billions of stars. Our Sun is just one of them. It appears that there are planets orbiting many of those other suns. Our Earth is just one of them. There’s a lot out there!
Oh the wonders of our Creator’s work which just now in history we are able to explore! Even through the rough times of sickness, accidents, losses, and challenges we know we’re not alone – God is with us. This makes it a truly delightful trip all the way to heaven. Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Through those dark and threatening valleys, God’s clear path leads us on. We’re held in the loving hand of our Good Shepherd. Psalm 37:23-24, “The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.”
\\