As I was walking to and from lessons yesterday, I started to think about an object lesson while dodging puddles and dirty melting piles of snow. Walking to and from my Russian lessons by myself is one of my favorite things. (when the weather is nice ;) Yesterday was a particularly gorgeous day with most of the day having very little cloudiness. Spring is a time of melting in Russia, and there are puddles everywhere. Some puddles are small while others require walking up on the mounds of snow on either side of the walkway. It made me think about walking purposefully or carefully so I would not be a muddy spotted mess by the time I arrived at class. It can easily be applied to how we walk with our Savior. We need to walk purposefully. Proverbs 4:26 tells us we must "Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established." We make decisions each about the path our feet are taking. Some we make without thinking about it, while others bring us to our knees seeking direction. The path we are on should always be at the forefront of our mind. We live in a sinful world. Sin is around us everyday. At work, getting groceries, soul-winning, running errands - we are often around those who could not care less about the things of our God. We should be reaching out to everyone at all times, but always remembering to ponder the path of our own feet. I have gone through a whole day without ever realizing that at some point I splashed some muddy water onto my clothes. Sometimes I think we can get so distracted with life, going through the motions, that we forget to walk purposefully.
Sometimes there are those puddles that are so deep, you can't see the ground below. They span from one end of the sidewalk to the other, with the still melting mounds of snow on either side. The two options are wade through if your boots can handle that much water, or step up on the mounds of snow trying not to slip into the foreboding muddy water. These are the times our steps become difficult. Literally every step is important. These are times of trials, when our faithfulness is tested. When times of life are difficult and even overwhelming, it is easy to feel alone. The thought crosses my mind that if I only had a hand to hold this would be much easier. Isn't it great that we are never truly alone!
Then I turned the corner onto the main road. This sidewalk was dry as could be. The snow had been shoveled away all winter long. When I say they shoveled it away, I mean they came with massive dump trucks and literally shoveled the snow into these trucks which removed it from the middle of town. I was enjoying the dry sidewalk so much that when I came to a parking lot I almost stepped in a nasty puddle. When life is rolling along and our comfort zone has returned, we can easily start feeling confident and thinking of other things besides the path of our feet.
So where are your feet headed? Are you walking purposefully? Where were your feet last year? Where were your feet yesterday? How are you walking today?
Sometimes there are those puddles that are so deep, you can't see the ground below. They span from one end of the sidewalk to the other, with the still melting mounds of snow on either side. The two options are wade through if your boots can handle that much water, or step up on the mounds of snow trying not to slip into the foreboding muddy water. These are the times our steps become difficult. Literally every step is important. These are times of trials, when our faithfulness is tested. When times of life are difficult and even overwhelming, it is easy to feel alone. The thought crosses my mind that if I only had a hand to hold this would be much easier. Isn't it great that we are never truly alone!
Then I turned the corner onto the main road. This sidewalk was dry as could be. The snow had been shoveled away all winter long. When I say they shoveled it away, I mean they came with massive dump trucks and literally shoveled the snow into these trucks which removed it from the middle of town. I was enjoying the dry sidewalk so much that when I came to a parking lot I almost stepped in a nasty puddle. When life is rolling along and our comfort zone has returned, we can easily start feeling confident and thinking of other things besides the path of our feet.
So where are your feet headed? Are you walking purposefully? Where were your feet last year? Where were your feet yesterday? How are you walking today?
Wow, this was a great and convicting post. I believe that would preach!
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