The Way to Walk
by Ron Scurfield
Which way, Lord? This way or that way? Sometimes we have a dilemma. This is the way we want to go, but we’re not sure if it’s God’s way. Perhaps if we put a toe in the water He’ll show us? We’ve prayed about it, but God doesn’t seem to be responding. What am I doing wrong?
We need to line up our thoughts and motives with God. Is this His will, or is it what I want? ‘Your will be done as it is in heaven’ (Matthew 5:10). All must be put on the altar of God. We must be prepared to be wrong. God is God and we need to recognise this. ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning …’ (Proverbs 1:7). This is where it starts - with God.
Scripture tells us that those who fear God receive His blessings: ‘Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land’ (Psalm 25:12-13).
To fear the Lord is to recognise our sin, and deal with it. ‘I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.. and you forgave the guilt of my sin’ (Psalm 32:5). Confession, repentance, forgiveness; then God goes on to say, ‘I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you’ (Psalm 32:8).
Sometimes we need to look as well as listen, and to be careful where we look. What we see is not always edifying, and can contaminate the mind. This can lead to sin. We need to discipline our eyes carefully, because sin interferes with our relationship with God. Let the truth of God’s word guard our eyes and bring light into the situation: ‘The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness’ (Matthew 6:22-23).
We have a choice: we can follow the flesh and our own desires, or we can walk with Jesus, by His Spirit. ‘Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:25).
Then we will know which way to walk, guided by the Spirit and the Word of God. ‘Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path’ (Psalm 119:105).
Prayer: My way is not Your way, Lord. Neither is Your way my way. I pray that, as I meditate on Your word, and seek to walk by Your spirit, these divergent ways may merge into one and the way forward becomes clear, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Ron Scurfield with his wife Jill, are part of the Associate Ministry Team at Ellel Grange and occasionally Ellel Scotland. Ron enjoys walking and writing and meeting interesting people, but his greatest joy is seeing God transform lives, setting people free to live the abundant life that Jesus intended.
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