Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21 NIV
Think about what it’s like to walk through the soft sand on the beach. It can be hard to walk a straight path as your feet sink and turn at the mercy of the soft sand below. Our walk through life can be like that sometimes too. The world is always going to offer us paths that are difficult to navigate through, just like soft sand.
For the Bible defines our struggle this way.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12 NIV
The enemy makes it hard to stay the course, because he wants us to go astray and lose our way; but God offers us solid ground! He helps us gain our footing so we can walk a straight path!
It is written:
“Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” Genesis 13:17 NIV
Let’s return, in our minds, to the beach. Once we trudge through the dry soft sand we eventually reach hard packed sand. But the closer we get to the water’s edge, the softer the sand becomes. We encounter sand that has our feet sinking, making it hard to walk briskly. This slowness mirrors what we experience when we don’t keep up in our walk with the Lord. Adam experienced this in the garden.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:8-9 NIV
It’s important to keep walking with the Lord! We never want God to have to ask, “Where are you?” We need to be careful to walk on solid ground.
Also, as we near the water, we can encounter a slant in the ground. While this slant leads down to the water , It makes it impossible to walk straight. It can work our feet too hard to continue our walk as long as we need to.
Listen to God’s words to Abraham:
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.” Genesis 17:1 NIV
That’s how God wants all of us to walk before Him, faithfully and blameless! Our daily walk with the Lord is too important to be hindered by sinking sand. We can miss all the Lord has for us when we don’t find solid ground. We need to listen every day for God’s voice saying, “This is the way, walk in it.”
Alas, as we journey down the beach, we find that patch of sand between the slant, and the loose sand. This ground that has been wet by high tides and solidified over night; here we find ground that allows us to walk straight and narrow and swiftly. We can now walk as the Lord has provided.
Notice it is the water that allows for solid ground. For this is what the Lord desires for us in our walk with Him, he says;
“But I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you.” Jeremiah 7:23 NIV
To walk with our Lord daily, and effectively, we need solid ground. For it is written:
When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Proverbs 4:12 NIV
For the Lord desires us to walk with Him every day, on firm ground and along the path he provides.
Jesus talks about solid ground this way:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25 NIV
Our solid ground is Jesus; we must always walk with Him and in Him. We can then walk straight on the He provides each of us.
It’s the only way, He is the only Way!
Love one another.
Barnabas
Special thanks to Barnabas for this guest submission.