The law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip.  Psalm 37:31

Once again, on our first night here after settling in to our lodging, eating dinner and getting groceries, we finally had a chance to walk on the beach.  The condo that we have rented is at the southern end of the island with a large beach behind it that must be crossed to get to the ocean’s edge.  As is our usual custom we were both barefoot and quickly found this to be problematic as the area is not covered with the typical smooth sand.  By contrast, we were walking on broken sea shells while dodging dead sea urchins and vegetation.  Consequently, we had to be vigilant in keeping our focus on the placement of our feet for each step.  Enjoying the scenery took a back seat to self-preservation.   We could enjoy the breeze, the sound of the surf and the smell of the salty air, but could not truly enjoy the view.  As we took a slightly different route back to our building, we had the additional concern of making our way through a protected area for nesting birds giving us a less direct route than we would have liked.  While we still enjoyed the walk, it was a tad more intense and laborious than we would have liked.  This walk on the beach kept reminding me of our walk as Christians in several ways.  We may know our final destination, but must be always keep it in view; we must choose our path carefully; we must be aware of the dangers; and we need to be mindful of our steps.

 “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 3:13-14)  As Christians, we know that the destination of our life’s journey Heaven and abiding with God.  However, life has a way of distracting us and we often forget to keep our focus on the goal rather than the events that occur along the way.  While we may not be able to fully appreciate or understand the all of the twists and turns of our path that shift our primary focus from eternity to the present, those circumstances will only ever make sense in light of eternity.  Further, while they may be valuable as lessons learned and spiritual growth, we can’t look backwards either; ruing our past hurts and trials keeps us looking in the wrong direction.  When we dwell on the past or the present without the context of eternity, we can’t tell where we are, we can’t see progress, we can’t see growth, we can’t safely move forward and our fortitude to press on towards the goal is hampered by regret and frustration.  However, in keeping an eye on the goal as well as trusting in God’s attributes and promises, our faith and our hope come alive, allowing God’s grace to strengthen and encourage us.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” (John 14:6)  In general, there are two types of paths.  The first is like walking through a meadow; you can see the destination, but the exact path doesn’t really matter as long as you keep moving in the correct general direction.  The second is more akin to a path cut in the woods; one knows where they are headed, but the path is narrow and well defined with use, but it may be encumbered and have dangerous drop-offs or other dangers; as long as you stay on that well-worn trail and maintain your focus, you arrive safely at your destination.  The walk of faith is like the latter, the path to eternity with God begins with accepting Christ as our savior.  Despite what others may say and our culture encourages, there is no other way to be saved.  In Matthew 7:13-14, Christ warns us that the path leading to life is a narrow one.  It’s not a life of rules and rituals, but rather godly obedience… a life of discipline dependent on the sustaining strength provided through Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  It’s an attitude born in the love of our Lord.   Further, our path is always illuminated by the word of God (Psalm 119:105).

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)  On our walk by the shore, it would not have been wrong to pay more attention to the scenery than our path.  However, to do so would most likely cause us to stumble or hurt our feet because we were not mindful of the risks that lay at our feet.  As we make our journey through life, we must always be aware of the dangers.  Some like the warning above are direct attacks by dark spiritual forces or ungodly people.  Some have to do with general spiritual warfare going on around us.  However, many of the dangers lie in our sinful nature and lax attitudes.  We start looking at the people and things around us comparing our lives to theirs or let our spiritual habits wane.  Several times in the New Testament we are told to “beware” of people such as false prophets and evil men as well as attitudes such envy, greed and pride.  Our world offers many distractions, but we must not succumb to them; rather we must stay the course carefully choosing our every move.

“The naive believes everything, but the sensible man considers his steps.” (Proverbs 14:15) In addition to destination, the path we take, and the dangers around us, wisdom dictates that we must be mindful of each step.  These are the choices in life that either move us closer to God or away from Him; the choices that trust God’s plan or challenge it; the choices that bring God glory or are self-centered.  God is watching our steps (Job 34:21).  When we seek to serve Him, He not only watches our steps, but also establishes them and holds our hands so that we do not fall. (Psalm 37:23-24)  But Psalm 73:2-3 reminds us that things like envy will cause us to slip.  Thankfully, through Christ’s suffering, He provided an example for us to follow in His footsteps. (1 Peter 2:21)

One final observation from this walk on the beach is that we humans are quick to protect the things in this world that can be easily measured; that is we will protect ourselves from physical pain, we will protect our comfort, we will protect our assets and we will even protect wild life and endangered species.  However, we regularly let our guard slip when it comes to our souls.  As we walk through life may we ever be mindful of our destination, follow the path provided by Christ, aware of the dangers but allowing God’s word to light our way as we walk with Him and allow Him to establish our steps and lift us up when we fall.  It is certainly a challenge, but our God is faithful to help us.

May God both establish your steps and delight in your way as you pass through this life.

Will