ODJ: look up
November 2, 2011
Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow (v.4).
READ: Psalm 25:1-10
Try this: Take your friend to a beach or a park, blindfold him, and tell him to walk in a straight line. Nobody can do it, at least not for long. One scientist explains why: “Humans, apparently, slip into circles when we can’t see an external focal point—like a mountaintop, a sun, a moon. Without a corrective, our insides take over and there’s something inside us that won’t stay straight.”
What is true physically turns out to be true spiritually as well. Scripture speaks often about the importance of straight paths—those trails that are beaten down from constant use until they form deep grooves in our heart.
Straight paths are shorter than those that meander across the terrain, so “a sensible person stays on the right path” (Proverbs 15:21). They also tend to be safer than traipsing through the bushes, as only fools “turn from the right way to walk down dark paths” (2:13). And they make for easier journeys, for when you walk “in straight paths . . . you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble” (4:11-12).
The straight path is the place to be. But as any blindfolded person can tell you, it’s impossible to find on our own. “There is a path before each person that seems right,” wrote Solomon, “but it ends in death” (14:12). We need “an external focal point.” Not some mountain or star to guide us. No, we need God. “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by Your truth and teach me, for You are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in You” (Psalm 25:4-5).
Let’s look up and ask God to open our eyes to His straight path today.
—Mike Wittmer
Given the biblical emphasis on straight paths, why is it significant that the first followers of Jesus were called “followers of the Way”? (Acts 9:2). What changes do you need to make to pursue God’s straight path?
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