“Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” Hebrews 12:12-13
When I wake up in the morning, I hurt. My hip aches, and my knees are stiff. After a bit of movement, the pains diminish, and I can move around with ease once again, but it takes some time to get these joints lubricated and able to move without discomfort. Once that happens though, I am able to go about my daily activities without giving too much thought to my aging body until I do something that forces my hip or knees to remind me that they are not as young as they used to be. When a jolt of pain shoots up from these areas, I remember that I can’t twist and turn like before, and I need to step carefully, remembering my limitations. Despite my mind’s faulty belief that I can do anything, my “feeble knees” insist otherwise, so I choose the better, safer way to move about. It’s a lot less painful!
My spiritual life is a lot like my physical life. At times, I find myself aching from discouragement. I hurt from disappointment. I am downtrodden with heavy burdens. My limp hands do not rise in prayer and worship, and my feeble knees struggle to walk the straight and narrow way that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7:14, “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” When these obstacles cause me to veer off the pathway (Christian life) that God has set before me, I encounter even more stumbling blocks (ways of the world), and it’s so easy to for me to trip and fall. In order for me to get up and return to the path upon which God would have me walk, I must be revived!
Revival comes from God. Psalm 138:7 states, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.” As I open the Bible, I find words of encouragement to return to the path that leads to everlasting life, and I can agree with John Bunyan, who wrote in Pilgrim’s Progress, “Though the hill is high, I still desire to walk up it. I don’t care how difficult it is, because I understand that it leads to the way of life.” But getting up is not enough. I must learn how to keep from being “turned out of the way.”
So how do I stay on the narrow way? I must keep my eyes focused on the path. Proverbs 4:25-26 says, “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.” To do this, I must read the Bible daily and meditate upon its precepts. I must keep an open line of communication with God through on-going prayer. I must follow the footsteps of Jesus!
This will keep me from the crooked paths of the world and remove its obstacles out of my way, so that I need not stumble and entirely fall. I will still face afflictions that will be disheartening at times, but with God’s help against these, I must make every effort to overcome so that when my life is over, I will know that “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling,
Come, follow Me!
And we see where Thy footprints falling
Lead us to Thee.
Footprints of Jesus,
That make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus
Where’er they go.
(from “Footsteps of Jesus” by Mary B. Slade)
“He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.” Proverbs 21:21
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“A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian.” – Dwight L. Moody