Stay the Course

DEVOTION
PROVERBS
STAY THE COURSE
Prov 2:20-22
20 Thus you will walk in the ways of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous. 21 For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; 22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
NIV
This is the desire of my heart, to walk in the ways of good men and to keep to the paths of the righteous. Why would I ever want to do anything else? There can be nothing good, but only the destruction of my very being, my soul, my spirit, if I were to engage in anything else, and not walk in the ways of good men. I know the path of the righteous is a narrow path, not because there is no wiggle room on either side, but because there are so few on it. The path certainly is not righteous because of the goodness or righteousness of those who walk it. No, it is the righteous path because it is established that way by Jesus. I believe the path is quite large, even wide enough for many to travel it together, for God would love nothing else for all his creation to be on it. It is sad that is not the case, but at the same time I am glad I am on the path, that I walk in the ways of good men. Sure I am not perfect nor am I without failures or should I say sin. But God does not say it is the path of perfect men, but good men. This path surely leads to the land flowing with milk and honey, the paradise of God. This is the land I want to live in. This is the place where the upright, those who have traveled the life following after God, will dwell. Again the only reason I could possibly live in this land as being blameless is surely not because of me, but because of Jesus. He has declared me blameless, or rendered me innocent because of Jesus. I can walk this path, and live in this land because I have accepted the provision God made for me in Jesus. This is an incredible blessing. I still cannot understand why some people would refuse this great gift. Why anyone would want to be cut off from the land. Yet I think even worse would be to be torn from it, once having been granted entrance. Is that possible? It sounds as if once I had accepted Christ and have been walking in the ways of good men, and keeping on the path of the righteous, that at some point I decide to stop, and to no longer be faithful to those ways, and wander from the path, that I would also be torn from the land. Ah, God has not torn me from it, but it is I who tare me away. I would cut myself off from it; I would tare myself away from it by not being faithful to the ways of good men, and not keeping on the path. So I must stay the course.