Two Paths

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish" Psalms 1:1-6

Life is a series of choices and we will always find ourselves, in one way or another, back at the proverbial fork in the road. We are by design, choices makers, responsible for our free will and we decide which way to go, what to do, and how to respond to opportunities, situations, and circumstances. As much as we would like to explain away or excuse our dilemmas and quagmires, alas we are the common denominator in all our problems. Even when there is a good reason for how we manage to get ourselves where we end up, even then we are responsible for how we handle ourselves from there. Oh, more choices.

In Psalms 1 we are confronted with two paths. One leads to trouble, the other doesn’t. One is the faithful way to go, the other faithless. We are blessed simply by not heading down the negative way, the way of wickedness and mocking. Oh the misery we could avoid just by not doing the obviously foolish things in life. Then this Psalm suggests meditating on Scripture (what a novel concept) even going as far as to suggest night and day (as opposed to maybe weekly) which will lead to fruitfulness, prosperity, and spiritual growth. On the other hand, we are told that we could be blown away, knocked down, out of touch, even to the point of perishing. But then again, if we choose the Lord’s way and pick that path, the Lord will watch over us. Yipes, sure sounds like a no-brainer. So why is it so hard sometime? Free will is both wonderful and frightful. Wonderful in the light. Frightful in the dark. So stay in the light. Pick the right path. Do the right thing. Make wise choices. Respond and don’t react.

My Dad would always start one of his favorite lectures the same way, with the same words. I can still hear him to this day, “Son, you’ve basically got two choices here. Either you choose this and get this or choose that and get that.” (whatever the this and the that were…some fork in the road) I have learned since to watch for upcoming forks in the road and impending choices as much as I am willing to and as possible.

If you are on the brink of a decision, consider Him, His Word, His way, and your paths may be smoother.

Seeking Him,
Pastor Fred Snider

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