Stay on the Right Path

 

Show me thy ways, O Lord and show me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach mePsalm 25:4

stay on the pathThe Psalmist is praying, asking God to show him His ways – the right way.  We are all faced daily with decisions and desire to know the right way, or the right answer.  The Psalmist David was asking for the Lord to show him a path to walk on, and to make it clear so he would know which way to go. I believe when we ask the Lord, He will make His way very plain and clear.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.”  Psalm 37:23 

His ways are so much higher than our ways, that we must wait on Him to reveal the higher or better way. The prophet Isaiah knew about the ways of God. He said they were like a highway to walk on. So the path leads up to a highway. A higher way, and a higher goal to reach. To reach a higher goal you must establish a higher standard for your life.  So ponder the path you have been walking on and ask the Lord to lead you on the path to His High Way!  Stay on that Path and don’t veer to the right or the left.  The High Way is straight ahead.

“… he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”  Psalm 23:3b

 “Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies;

 make thy way straight before my face.”  Psalm 5:8

The Path: Establish a Standard of Righteousness for your life and for your home. When you commit your ways to the Lord, He will direct you.

The Lord Will Answer You

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!  Psalm 21:1

God will answerMay the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high and defend you. Send you help from the sanctuary and support, refresh and strengthen you from Zion. Psalm 20:1-2 Amp

There are times that we need supernatural support and strength to make it through the challenges of the day. When we call on the Lord He will dispatch help from His throne. Psalm 20:2 says, “He sends help from the sanctuary.” He will send help, sometimes even angelic assistance. Scripture tells us that the angels of the Lord excel in strength at His command. They are like an emergency back up support system that is on call twenty four–seven waiting for the next assignment. When we call out to the Lord for help, He sends them forth in strength. When Joshua was preparing for the battle of Jericho the angel of the Lord appeared to him in Joshua 5:13-15 and told him he was the Captain of the Lord’s host. Joshua had the Lord’s host on his side as he fought and won the battle of Jericho. Scripture tells us the angels of the Lord are always encamped round about us. Could it be they are just waiting for the next assignment?

A house cannot stand without a strong support system. In a house you cannot see the support beams but you know they are there. It would seem foolish to sit in your living room fearful that the house was going to cave in. When you put your trust in the Lord, you can be assured the house will stand, the support system is in place and you shall not be moved. The Lord establishes the support system so you can stand even when the strong winds of adversity come.  We cannot see them with our natural eyes but we know the support system of the angelic army is in place.

The Right Path: Ask God to send help from the Sanctuary if you need extra support and strength.

God’s House Plans

Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it… Psalms 127:1

Gods House PlansGod is the Master Builder and in His kingdom He is building many houses. When He is building a house He draws up the plans, and then He shares the plans with you through a vision or dream. This is how His house plans are delivered to the earth.  If you have a dream that is much larger than anything you could do alone, then there is a good chance that God has revealed one of His house plans to you.  He showed Noah a huge boat and Solomon a massive tabernacle.  Each of these houses was unique and perfectly laid out by God to minister to His people, but He did not show the plans to everyone.   He showed these plans to Noah and Solomon, because they were to ones He chose to build the house.  He could trust them with the plans, because He knew they trusted in Him.

God must be able to trust you to hold the vision and wait on Him for each step. Hold on to the vision, and don’t let time discourage you. The very fact that He gave you the vision indicates that He intends for His house to be built. If the Lord is building the house wait on Him and trust in Him and in time the construction will begin. Always keep in your mind focused on whose house it is.  You are building His house and not your own.

A vision from God is like a fire, and it burns within you and can’t be put out. If there is a fire within you that can not be quenched it is the fire of God. At just the right time He will poke at the embers and the vision will blaze up. Just hold on to the vision, this is the embers, and at just the right time the fire of God will been seen and He will build His house.

He Prepares the Table

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…”

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”   Rev. 3:20

A beautiful banquet table is being prepared for the most splendid banquet in history.  You have a special invitation to this banquet if you are a child of God.

When Jesus knocked on the door of your heart and you asked Him to come into your life, you were inviting Him in to sup or have dinner with you. Now you are invited to come to the Fathers house and have dinner with Him and the rest of the Family. You have a special invitation and a special seat at the banquet table.

He has prepared a seat at this banquet table for you even in the presence of your enemies. No matter what others say against you, you are a special invited guest at this “Family Banquet.”  When Jesus ascended back to heaven He said He was going to prepare a place for each of us.  The place He has prepared is not just a place but also a position in the Fathers house and a seat at the “big table.”

As you grew up in an earthly family you may have had a special seat at the dinner table.  As the years went by and you returned home for special dinners you may have returned to sit in that same seat.  The seat is yours not because you bought the chair but because you have a special position in the family as a son or a daughter.  The same is true if you are a child of God you have a position in the heavenly family and you have a seat at the banquet table.

The Lord is knocking on the door of your heart; if you have never asked Him to come in, please ask Him now. Today is the day!

Time to Choose the Right Path

“That we may do those good works which God predestined for us…” Eph 2: 10

Predestined means something is preordained and appointed by God.  He has preordained and planned before hand what your purpose is on the earth.  And He has used the situations in your life up to this very moment to teach you and prepare you for His purposes.

We can’t see clearly what God sees.  It is only after we pass through a situation that we see it clearly, can look down from a higher perspective and see what good came out of it, what we learned and how God will use it.  I know how it is to be in the middle of a bad situation, wondering what could possibly be the good thing that will come out of it.  At that point we can not see what God sees.  That is why all along the way and in every situation we must learn to listen to His voice.  His ways are so much higher than our ways.  He has a plan that we can’t see so we must we listen to His voice and choose the right way; the high way.

I believe God sets up situations just for learning purposes. He wants us to learn from our past mistakes, so we will make different choices and take the right path the next time.  Paul said that if we take the path which He planned ahead of time that we will live the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live.  That does not mean we will not encounter difficult situations anymore once we learn to walk on the high way.  But it does mean we will always have a clear path to walk on during those difficult times.  That’s why we go through hard times so we learn how to identify God ways and God’s path that leads us though the valleys and hardships of life.

In Troubled Times, He Sends Help!

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high and defend you. Send you help from the sanctuary and support, refresh and strengthen you from Zion.   Psalm 20:1-2

There are times that we need supernatural support and strength to make it through the challenge of the day.  When we call on the Lord He will dispatch help from His throne.  In Psalm 20:2 we read, He sends help from the sanctuary. He will send help, angelic assistance.

Scripture tells us that the angels of the Lord excel in strength at His command.  They are like an emergency back up support system that is on call twenty four-seven waiting for the next assignment.  When we call out to the Lord for help, He sends them forth in strength.

In the 2 Kings: 6:16, Elisha prayed and asked that his servant’s eyes would be opened to see what He saw.  God had sent thousands of angels.  The prophet looked and could see a literal army surrounding him.

Scripture tells us the angels of the Lord are encamped round about us.  A house cannot stand without a strong support system. You cannot see the support beams but you know they are there.  It would seem foolish to sit in your living room fearful the house will cave in.

When you put your trust in the Lord you can be assured the house will stand, the support system is in place and you shall not be moved. The Lord is our support He will give you the strength to stand even when the strong winds of adversity come.  We cannot see with our natural eyes but we know the support is there when the winds blow.

Burdens Will Roll Away

“Commit your ways to the Lord (roll and repose each care of your load on Him); trust (lean on, rely on and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.”  Psalm 37:5 Amp.

You have probably found, as I have, that every problem has a weight to it, and some are heavier than others.  If you have committed your ways unto the Lord and are trusting in Him to work things out, then you must release the heavy weight and not take it back again.  As you trust the Lord, you can have peace in knowing your burdens will roll away.

Do not worry about it.   Trust Him.  This does not mean you are not involved or concerned about the situation.   It simply means you are not anxious or worried about it anymore.  And most of all, it is not up to you to fix it.

You are now trusting in the Lord and waiting on Him to work everything out for good.  Waiting is hard, but you can trust God to be faithful to His Word.  Grab hold of His promise and then wait.  It is hard to wait at first, but the more you resist taking things back into your own hands and working them out yourself, the easier waiting becomes.

So today, if your problem feels heavy, just pray and release it to the Lord.  Roll it over and reposition the weight on Him, and He will carry it for you.  All you need to do now is stand back and watch as He works everything out according to His plan and purpose.

Be aware that if you have never lived life without a weight on your back, it may feel funny at first.  If so, resist taking the weight back again.  Psalm 37:3 says, “Trust in (lean on, rely on and be confident) in the Lord and do good, so shall you dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness, and surely be fed.”   This tells me we are not to worry, because He will provide for all our needs.  We are to feed on His faithfulness, and He has a banquet table prepared for us.

Another important teaching on burden bearing.

 

Trust In The Lord and Rejoice

“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.” Psalm 5:11-12

When you completely trust in the Lord your spirit will rejoice at all times. He is working everything out, so you can be at peace and rest.  He is working both the good and the bad things together for your good.

“The joy of the Lord is my strength.” Neh. 8:10

You can ever shout for joy, because your eyes have not yet seen, and your ears have not yet heard all He has prepared for you. What God has planned for you is so glorious that you can shout for joy. No matter what you experience each day you can rest in the fact that tomorrow is a new day and joy will come in the morning.   The Lord is your source for joy.

“… weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5

It is a personal choice that you make each day; so choose this day who you will trust.

Choose today to enter into the joy of the Lord, and you will receive strength to face whatever comes your way.


WHO DO I TRUST

“O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me.” Psalm 7:1

We can trust in God because He is always faithful. We trust Him because we trust what He says in His Word.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

trust in GodGod’s track record has been recorded and He has been faithful to do what He says He will do all through the ages.  He has always come through.  When we trust others based on their track record we have a hard time trusting them.  Everyone makes mistakes and we have a tendency to focus on their mistakes. We want others to trust us because we have good intentions, but we only trust them based on their past behavior.  A person may have good intentions to do what they say, but many times it cannot be accomplished.

Trust is established over time.  Trust the fruit that is being produced in a person’s life over a period of time, not an isolated event.  Just like fruit on a tree is produced over time, fruit is produced in a person’s life over time through their relationship with God.

In Philippians 2:13 Paul says; “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

The fruit or evidence that God is working in a person’s life is the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy and peace found in Galatians 5:22-23.

Once the fruit of love is evident you know God is working. You can count on it because God is working in and through that person. That person may still let you down but God is working in them and you can trust Him.   He is the only one that can be trusted to come through. He is the only one who is steadfast. So wives trust God at work in your husband. Husbands trust God at work in your wife. Instead of looking at their failures try looking at how God is working in their life and trust in what He is doing.

The Path: Look past the natural into the supernatural and trust in the Lord with all your heart.

He Will Be With You!

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me…” (Psalm 23:4).

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isaiah 43:2).

 

God is With YouThe Lord has promised us that He will be with us even when we walk through the shadow of death.  He has already experienced every trial and every pain, even the pain of death.  He has gone before us and now lives to tell the story.  He can say with all authority, “Fear not, for I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10).

There is nothing to fear, because you are never alone. Your Father in heaven knows what you are facing and He has promised that no matter what you go through He will be with you. The light of His presence can be experienced even in the darkest night. A ray of sunshine always follows dark clouds, and the light of a new day always follows the night.

However, you must pass through the dark night to get to the next sunny day and the same is true of death. You must pass through death to get to resurrection life. Jesus passed through death and made life possible for all who will trust Him. When we put our trust in the Lord even death is but a shadow, something you simply pass through.

Put your full trust in the Lord, He will never leave you or forsake you.