The Path Less Traveled

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" -John 14:6

While hiking with my husband on the trail around the base of the Grand Tetons, I could see the fork in the path ahead. Clearly, the lower trail was the one chosen by most - clear and wide, easy to follow. But we were intrigued by the path less traveled and ventured there on our own, up a much narrower trail. 

Although the path was rougher and steeper, we shared an unexpected adventure and were awed at the sight of a beautiful hidden lake - a view we would surely have missed if we had stayed on the main trail.

Sometimes walking on the path God chooses for us means taking the path less traveled or even blazing a whole new trail. Following the footsteps of the crowd would certainly be easier, and in our sin, we sometimes do just that. 

We choose the lower trail, the path of least resistance. 

We place our trust in ourselves to find the way. 

We allow the world to define our values; we make crowd-pleasing decisions that do not honor God; we even fail to stand up for our faith. 

Despite our sinful steps down the worldly path, God does not give up on us. In His love, He sent His Son to die for our sins, cleansing us from our worldly ways and filling us with faith to follow Him.

As the Holy Spirit leads, we step off the beaten path and take the narrow, winding way instead. This is the way the world finds unappealing. 

The way that trusts God to provide, even then the numbers in our checkbook aren't "crunching" very well. 

The path that refuses to watch popular TV shows that try to redefine our moral values. 

The way that makes choices for our children that may not be outwardly cool or crowd pleasing. 

The way that stands up for our faith and our Savior in situations where God's Word is called into question.

Although the world continues to try and redefine our beliefs, wanting us to fall for the lie that all roads lead to heaven, by the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we trust the truth of God's Word that tells us otherwise. Jesus said, "I am the way...No one comes to the Father except through Me." No other roads or paths lead to salvation - to eternity in heaven with our Savior.

Taking the way less traveled, we can't always see what lies ahead on the path as we step out with our beautiful feet; sometimes His path for us is rough and steep and rocky; it may even look scary. But that forces us to trust the maker of the path. As we follow His lead, we are in for an adventure! 

We know that with every step we take, He has walked before us, making our way clear. 

As we walk, He also walks beside us. 

When we stumble, He catches us and steadies us. 

And when we can no longer stand, He picks us up and carries us. 

He knows the length of our walk, the end of our journey in this life, and the endless walk we will share with Him in eternity! We will most certainly be awed at the sight of heaven, a view we would have missed on the main trail. 

By God's grace, I'm taking the path less traveled. How about you?

Dear God, forgive me for walking a worldly path instead of following You. By Your Spirit, lead me down the path less traveled; I know my Savior walks beside me.  

In His name. Amen.

From Beautiful Feet by Deb Burma © 2010 CPH. Reprinted with permission