Lead Me in a Smooth Path...(Updated and Recycled for a Lenten Devotional)

This post was originally written in 2013, and then shared again in 2017...I can't believe how time flies! Some of you may have already commented on this twice! But, if you are like me, every time I read the Bible or some scriptural devotionals, I learn something new.  I thought perhaps this would be a good post for my current series of devotions for Lent...some thoughts to ponder and inspire our hearts as we approach the Easter season.  

Original Post 1/20/2013:

"Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies..." 
Psalm 27:11

This is NOT a smooth path...

Have you ever felt like the pathway of your life looks like this?  Whichever way you turn, there are obstacles strewn in the way; twisted, tangled masses of thorny vines, scrubby underbrush, rotting, termite ridden logs barring your passage to greener pastures and higher ground.

No matter how hard you try to cut through the briers and brambles of discord, disappointment, fear, sorrow, and enemy ambushes,  you find yourself constantly having to negotiate detours and conduct reconnaissance missions to survey the camp of the enemy and work your way back to a "smooth path".


That is when we find ourselves crying out with the Psalmist David:

"Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

When You said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to You, 'Your face, Lord, I will seek.'

Do not hide Your face from me;

Do not turn Your servant away in anger;

You have been my help;

do not leave me nor forsake me, 

O God of my salvation."

Psalm 27:7-9

Oftentimes there are warning signs as we begin our journey, which we choose to ignore thinking that we know a better route to take.  

We allow ourselves to get off the beaten path in search of alluring treasures, or we get sidetracked by the trappings of the world, which turn out to be dried up and useless promises, spreading fungi that trap our souls and eat away at our spiritual health, leaving us empty and barren.  

"Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;

Psalm 16:4

When we find ourselves at a dead end, wondering how we can get back home,  it is not too late to seek the Lord. When we seek His face, He will give us counsel.  He will guide us safely home.

"You will show me the path of life; In Your PRESENCE is fullness of joy;  At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."  Psalm 16:11

The Psalmist then concludes with these thoughts:

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see 

the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart;  

Wait, I say, on the Lord!"

Psalm 27:13-14

"The Smooth Path"

Dear Friend,

Where do you find yourself today?  Are you lost somewhere on the crooked, twisted path of anger, frustration, sorrow, defeat, anxiety and fear?  Do you find yourself longing to find that "smooth path" again...the Way to peace and comfort and joy?  It's not too late to turn around.  Stop, right where you are and call upon His name. Wait upon the Lord...

"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; 

They shall mount up with wings like eagles, 

They shall run and not be weary, 

They shall walk and not faint."  

Isaiah 40:31

Jesus beckons to us today:

"Come to Me, 

all you who labor and are heavy laden, 

and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, 

for I am gentle and lowly in heart, 

and you will find rest for our souls.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30

Come back to the smooth path.  There you will find rest for your soul.

It's a New Year...and I'm Going to....

Rest!

Yes, my friends, it is a New Year...and I am going to REST!  That is my "One Word" for 2017!  I "labored" over what my new "One Word" should be...and my mind grew weary with trying so hard.  Then this morning I opened my "Jesus Today" devotional book by Sarah Young, and this is what I read:

"Find Rest in Me alone, dear one; 

Your hope comes from Me. 

You have a restless mind. 

It skips and scampers about continually, rarely taking time to be still.

Listen, and you will hear Me saying,

"Come to Me."

I am the only resting place for your mind that will truly satisfy and strengthen you.

Take time-make time-to direct your thoughts to Me.

Whisper My Name and wait in My sacred Presence.  

You are on holy ground.

This provides refreshment not only for your mind

but also for your soul."

(Jesus Today, #108)

And this message confirmed to me what I was already thinking...it is time for me to 

find REST in Christ alone.  

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;

my hope comes from Him."

Psalm 62:5

In keeping with this idea, my mind was already spinning (not resting!) with ways in which I could accomplish this idea of resting.  Doesn't sound like I've quite learned anything about it yet, does it?  But hear me out, please.  

You see, my son sort of started it when he gave me this wonderful surprise gift for Christmas:

Here we are on Christmas morning, as my son Scott explained to me that he found this bench, in pieces in a dumpster, and he knew he had to bring it home and rebuild it for his mom!  And so, after he'd get home at night after work he was secretly laboring over this project outside when I was totally unaware. I was warned to stay away from the lean-to in the yard, but not told why.  And so on Christmas morning he revealed this beautiful park bench to me, which is still not quite completed, but good enough to show me...and I immediately started thinking about where I was going to put it so I could enjoy it the most!

I've had a dream of establishing a little "secret garden" in our back yard...even wrote about it once before I think...(Click HERE for that story...three years ago!)  but I never really got that project off the ground.  I was still working and going through other difficult things in our lives, and the secret garden kind of just faded into the weeds...(ferns mostly)

and even the spiders found a home there:

But now that I am retired...I feel God nudging me to set aside this special place where I can go and find REST for my soul...my own little "Secret Garden" where I can meet the Lord in the morning or the shade of the afternoon...whenever I feel the need or prompting of the Holy Spirit to steal away into a quiet place and meditate on Him...

I found this quote on Pinterest today...and it expresses my sentiments exactly....

and so one of the first things I have set in place is a gate that opens wide into my secret garden:

It is actually an old iron headboard that I found in the old shed on our property...so I painted it and we set it in place...permanently in the OPEN position, so that nothing will hinder me from entering this secret garden...and you are welcome too!  The beautiful glass flower ornament is a Christmas gift from my sweet hubby! He didn't know this would become the first thing to decorate this special place...he just saw it at the flea market and knew I would like it!

He was so right!!!! He knows me better than I realized!

And so now that I have embarked on this new project...it is supposed to help me find "REST"...but first I have work to do so that I CAN rest!  (Something wrong with this picture? Perhaps...but I can't rest until I know everything is in place...) so stay tuned for future developments....(Now you may understand why God wants me to learn how to REST).   

By the way, last year my "One Word" was GRACE...(Click HERE for that story)...and I must admit that God has shown me His loving grace in so many ways this past year...as well as I have had to  learn how to be filled with grace as I have helped to care for my mother in law as she progresses in her physical and mental needs each week...that is still a work in progress for me.  

So perhaps the time of REST will help me to fully understand just how great is God's Grace.  

Psalm 46:10 says:

"Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth."

This won't be the first time the Lord has tried to teach me to be still and meditate on Him.  I pray that this year I will do exactly what He is teaching me to do...and just

Rest!

Post Update: Linking up with Deb and friends over at Breathing in Grace to share our One Word for 2017!  Check it out and see how the Lord is leading others in this adventure to draw closer to God in 2017...

Have You Not Known? Have You Not Heard? Updated/Reposted

Reposted from December 12, 2011.   Note: This little ride out in the country eventually led to our moving to that very location that we discovered that day on that little ride out in the country, (actually the FOREST).  So, one never knows exactly what seeds God may be planting when He directs you to take a little ride and rest for a spell!  Always keep your eyes, ears, and heart open to His prompting! You may be pleasantly surprised at what He will reveal!

"Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The EVERLASTING GOD, the LORD, The CREATOR of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.  His understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the weak, and those who have no might He increases strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,  But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40:28-31



Eagle in Flight...photos taken by my sister Doris E. Hutchinson,  near our Dad's property last year (2010)

I saw an eagle soaring above the treetops today...out of the clear blue (actually the skies were a bit grey and cloudy). He just lifted up his mighty wings and flew above the noise and clatter below.  He reminded me of this verse...a reminder that I needed today.  I was not feeling particularly strong...actually I am tired and weary and feeling a mite weak.  Maybe a bug...or perhaps just exhaustion...either way...I needed a day of rest...so I took it.  Yep, I called in sick today...and legitimately so.  We took a little ride out into the country just to get away and talk and think and allow ourselves to dream a little.  Sometimes that is better than staying in bed or sitting in my recliner in front of the TV all day sipping hot tea and eating soup.  Especially when I saw the choices on daytime TV...I thought to myself, "I'd rather be at work than sitting here watching this junk."  So I was glad when my hubby suggested we take a little ride.

Anyway, it was therapeutic to get away from the must do list and the mind that won't let me rest because of the constant reminders of all the things I should be doing, both at work and at home in this, the busiest time of the year.  I don't believe that Christmas was intended to be a time of exhaustion and stress. It should be the happiest and most joyful time of all.  Christmas...the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ...should give us reason to sing and shout hallelujah and break out into a dance of pure joy.  It should cause us to "soar with the eagles"   in our hearts and minds and spirits. 

Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth...thank you for giving me the strength I need to carry on during this busy time. Thank you for helping me to run and not be weary...and to walk and not faint.  I am placing my trust in YOU, Oh Lord, and claiming this promise by faith today. Oh, and I promise to try harder to wait on YOU for the answers to my questions and the power I need to move ahead.  In the precious name of Jesus, the baby in the manger Who grew up to be a man and sacrifice His life for all mankind...Amen.

How about you?  Do you need to soar with the eagles today?  Why not let go of whatever is holding you down in spirit, and let God lift you up, up and away!  You will be able to return to earth feeling rested and renewed in strength and ready for whatever lies ahead.  Try it...He will not fail you.  He promised.

(Credit due to my sister Doris for her photographic skill in capturing

these pictures!)