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Read Psalm 16 

Memory Verse: v10-11 “You will not... let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life.”

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

In the famous poem, "The Road not Taken", Robert Frost reflects on a road more alluring that is heavily trod. Life is like that. There are aways seemingly many paths you could take and the choices can feel daunting. Some seem easier than others because it is the ones walked by most. How will we know if we made the right decision?

I don't know if we will ever truly feel confident in our chosen path unless we are certain of the One who calls us to walk a specific direction and certain we can trust the One who gives direction. As a Christian, we cannot believe that there are many paths to God. As seemingly comforting and enticing as that common path of logic is, the Bible unfortunately is clear about that. It is only through Jesus. However, there are also not many paths that lead to a true, vibrant life; one that is filled with true joy & eternal pleasures (v11).

Notice in verse 11 that the word "path" is not plural. God leads down a path & it is one that is not often trod by many. David understands this: “You will not let your faithful one see decay (there will be true life)” and “You will make known the path?” This promise is what can release us of the inevitable anxiety we all face in determining our own fate of what endless amounts of roads we might travel.

With clarity of which road less traveled leads to vibrant life, we will feel renewed lightness of being, a freedom, and refreshing joy. However, how can we know the directions & trust the One who gives them?

Ahh, now therein lies the secret. In verse 8, David declares: "My eyes were always on the Lord.” In verse 7, he seeks God’s counsel on a nightly basis. The closer we draw to the One who gives directions, the more clear it is what path to take. You will not know much about that path, and not many people can advise you of it because it is the road less traveled. In fact, most of your well-meaning (even Christian) friends, may advise you to avoid the path God leads us on. That’s what we all do with uncertain, untrodden paths. We avoid them. However, the One who has walked the path before us has not seen decay but resurrected! If we believe that, then we can have confidence in following His lead.

Two important notes:

  • God calls us to walk out from the pit of Decay. He leads but you actually have to rise up and walk toward him. It seems self-explanatory, except we don’t do it. We want God to give us eternal pleasures and renewed life, but unlike David, we don’t really seek to draw nearer to Him and walk out of the paths of despair, because they are the roads most traveled and therefore most comfortable to us. As we say at my church, we have to get uncomfortable! That means rising up and choosing to walk out of the graves we call normal life. We must have the courage to change and that means choosing to make major changes to the path of least resistance in our life; that path that is alluring because it is ‘normal’ and appears easier.
  • Similarly, God guides our path down the road less traveled but we have to wake up each day and commit to move toward Him and make listening to Him our primary concern.

Ask yourself today: How will you walk closer toward Him starting NOW? What are you willing to risk to trust Him to lead you down the road less traveled?

This movement, this choice each day, is what will make all the difference.