When I was a little girl, my mom and I would play a game she invented called, "Taxi Driver." My mom's car would become a taxi, she would be the taxi driver, and I would be the passenger telling her how to get to my house from wherever we were at the time. I used to love playing this game! My mom obviously knew how to get to our house, but I, at such a young age, was clueless. At first, I would tell her to turn down crazy streets that aren't even near our house. But, she was patient and would ask me to try again. I would point to a street and she would nod yes or no. It was up to me to pay attention to her head nods and shakes to get us home. Because of this game, I now know how to get home from wherever I am.
This is the story I thought of when I read this verse yesterday:
"A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?"
--Proverbs 20:24 NIV84
Let's take this verse piece by piece.
"A man's steps are directed by the Lord." Each step that we take in life is shown to us by God. Let that just sink in for a minute. God, the one, true God, the Almighty God, the eternal God, directs our steps. He shows us, mere humans, where to go. He leads us along a path that He has preordained for each one of us. No path is the same, but they all lead to God. How beautiful is that?! When I played that game as a child, my mom was driving the car; she was directing where to go and how to get home.
This verse, however, is contingent upon something else: our loyalty to God. You see, God has a plan for each of our lives. He places us on a path that will eventually lead to Him in eternal glory. We must choose to stay on that path by listening to His calls and allowing Him to direct our paths. The unfortunate problem is...life gets in the way sometimes. We decide earthly things are more appealing than His grace and mercy. When that happens, we stray from His directed path and follow our own path. Watch what the MSG version of the same verse says about this: "The very steps we take come from God; otherwise how would we know where we're going?" The important word here is otherwise, meaning we choose something else besides allowing God to direct our steps. That word means that we take on God's position for ourselves, because something else looks better than God's plan. The next part of the MSG says, "How would we know where we're going?" Now I don't know about you...but when I decide my own ways are better than God directing my steps, I get lost and confused. I become so caught up with the world and so far off the path God already mapped out for me, that I find myself wandering aimlessly. Again, playing that game as a child, while my mom knew where we were supposed to go, I would sometimes choose the wrong streets to turn down. I had to pay attention to what she was telling me so we could get home safely.
Well, I have to be even more honest. Along with mostly choosing my own ways instead of God's, I even question His ways. In the NLT version, it says this: "The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?" This version hits me over the head with such truth! If God truly is the one and only God, if He truly is sovereign and knows all, and if He truly loves me and wants the best for me, then who am I to question Him? Who am I to demand Him to explain His plan to me? Who am I to follow Him but then doubt the journey He has me on? Who am I to try to understand everything along the way? God has shown me bits and pieces of what He has planned for me but never the whole picture. And you know what, I may not like that sometimes, but if He is directing my steps, then I will follow Him no matter what! As a child, while I may have thought a certain street looked like our street, my mom knew better. She knew how to get home and would tell me how. I may have thought differently, but I had to trust that because she was driving the car, she knew where to go.
Even if I choose another path besides the one God directs for me, His Word offers hope. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9 NIV84). I could not have said it better myself. If I am honest with Him and tell Him that I have strayed, He is a merciful God who will forgive me and place me back on His path. No matter where you are in life or how far you may have strayed from Him, He is ready to bring you back home. :]
