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Psalm 18:35-36   ³⁵ You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand has supported me; your help has made me great.  ³⁶ You gave me a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.

When we are trying to make changes in our lives we establish goals for ourselves. We need to keep those goals in front of us in order to stay on the right path. But for some of us our goals are not able to be met quickly. They will only be fulfilled after months and even years of faithful adherence to our new program. It is easy to become discouraged when the goal still seems far away and our progress seems small.

In these times it is important to take a moment to look back at where we were at the beginning of the journey and at what has been accomplished. We will see that progress has been made and things have changed. Maybe our attitude has changed, maybe we see tangible, physical results of our persistence.

As we walk the journey of faith, we need to take time to look back as well. We will see those times when God was faithful. We will see those times when we were able to have faith in the midst of struggle. We will see answered prayers, attitudes changed. Looking back at where we were and looking at where we are today will give us hope for the future that will lead us forward.

Lord, thank you for what you have done for us. Help us to remember your faithfulness as we continue on our journey. Amen.

1 John 2:3-6   ³ Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments.  ⁴ Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist;  ⁵ but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him:  ⁶ whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.

Consistency is the key to changing our lifestyle. Doing the right things day after day lead to good habits for living. If we are inconsistent, stepping off the right path over and over again, we lose sight of our goals and never really change our habits. Just saying that we want to do the right things does not help us make progress. It is only when our actions follow our words that real change is made.

Living the life of faith requires that we obey God’s commandments day by day. We might talk a good game about wanting to be a good Christian, but until we put the Christian life into practice we will never see positive results. We have an example of how to live the life of faith in Jesus Christ. If we walk as he walked we will be following God’s path.

We need to spend time with Jesus. We need to learn more about the way he lived his life. And we need to put into practice his way of living in order to stay on the path of faith.

Lord, help us to do more than just talk about being faithful. Prod us into putting our faith into action. Amen.

Luke 1:78-79  ⁷⁸ By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,  ⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

We live in scary times, it’s true, but if we really think about it we have always lived in scary times. In each age, there have been those who live to hurt others, who cause discord, who disrupt society, and bring danger and violence into our homes, our neighborhoods, our cities, our country, and our world.

We can respond to these people in a variety of ways. We can respond in fear, becoming frozen and unable to cope. If we respond this way, they have won. We can respond in anger, fighting back with the same violence perpetrated against us. If we respond this way, they have won.

Or we can respond in love and faith. We can reach out to others who are hurting; we can forgive those who would try to hurt us; we can pray for them and all those who have been affected by their violence. We can love. We can trust that God is in control and work for peace. If we respond in this way, their power is diffused, their violence is conquered; they lose their ability to disrupt.

It is only through the mercy of our God that we can respond this way. God will give us the strength to endure, the compassion to forgive, and the will to be brave in the midst of scary times. We need only put our trust in our God who loves us and the world.

O Lord, we are often afraid. Bring your light into this darkness and guide our feet into the way of peace. Amen.

Psalm 77:19-20   ¹⁹ Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen.  ²⁰ You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Have you ever walked along the beach near a lake or ocean? You make footprints in the sand only to have the waves wipe them away. As you look back you cannot see where you have been. It looks like you were never there.

We know that God is with us wherever we go and in whatever we do, but sometimes we cannot feel God’s presence. We go about our daily business and don’t give a thought about what God is doing with us. We go through trials and tribulations and feel all alone. We wonder where God is in all of this.

Just because we cannot feel God’s presence doesn’t mean that God is not there. God is working through the people that we meet every day. God is working through the circumstances in which we find ourselves. God is working behind the scenes preparing things to come, arranging things that are, so that we might be brought closer to him. When we are feeling all alone, we can call out to God. We can put our trust in God’s care, knowing that God is working through it all.

O God, we know you are there. Help us to see you working and feel your presence in our lives. Amen.

Psalm 15:2-5   ² Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart;  ³ who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;  ⁴ in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the LORD; who stand by their oath even to their hurt;  ⁵ who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved.

When we embark on a program to improve our lives we might try to cut corners and cheat the system. We soon find out that our cutting and cheating efforts only hurt our progress, slow down the good results, and even stop us in our tracks at times. In order for our plan to work we must work the plan day after day. Doing the right things over and over and not stepping off the path of success.

Our journey of faith is also a day after day practice: doing the right things to keep faith alive, avoiding those things that would hinder us on the journey, and putting our trust in the Lord to guide us along that right path. Every time we stray from the way we should go we stand in the way of our own success. We become people who have lost sight of the truth; we lose our balance and fall.

God encourages us to keep on the right path. Practice daily the faithful way of living. Hold on tight to the Lord that God may guide our steps.

Lord, you have shown us the way we should go. Help us stay on the right path by doing the things we know to be right. Amen.

Micah 4:1-2 In days to come the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. Peoples shall stream to it,  ² and many nations shall come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

So often we become disheartened. We see the way things are going in this world and we shake our heads in sadness and despair. We wonder who really is in control. We believe that God is in charge, but we struggle to keep the faith.

God promises us that he is in control. We may not know how God is working everything out but we have the promise that everything will fall into place. Those nations that are so violently against the leading of our God will one day come into his presence with singing and praise, desiring to learn his ways.

This is God’s promise to us. We must continue to pray for the promise to become reality and work to spread the good news of the gospel to the world that exists outside our doors. God is faithful. God’s promises are true. God is winning the battle. Believe!

Lord, it is hard to keep the faith when we see so much violence and faithlessness in the world. Help us hold on to your promises even as we work to expand your kingdom. Amen.

Proverbs 2:6-11   ⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;  ⁷ he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly,  ⁸ guarding the paths of justice and preserving the way of his faithful ones.  ⁹ Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;  ¹⁰ for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;  ¹¹ prudence will watch over you; and understanding will guard you.

Do you feel like you are wise in your decision making? Or do you feel like you sometimes make foolish mistakes? God promises to give us wisdom in dealing with others and making the right decisions for our lives. The only way for us to receive that wisdom is to spend time with the Lord. The more we read his word the more we can hear his voice leading us on the right path.

We will hear God’s voice leading us as we decide which way to turn. We will see God’s leading as we observe how things are falling into place or how things are not going the way they should go. We will receive insight on the right steps to take to be fair and equitable to all and how to bless others even as God has blessed us. We will experience a peace of mind and heart knowing that we are doing what God desires for us. We will walk secure knowing that God is watching over our steps and guarding our path.

Lord, help us to listen to your wisdom. Guide our steps and guard our paths that we might be just and righteous in our decisions. Amen.

Ezekiel 2:2-3   ² And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me.  ³ He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day.

Who has God put in your path? Are there those you encounter who you know God is telling you to befriend and to share God’s grace? We have received God’s grace for a reason. It is our task to share that grace and love with others so that they might also know what it means to walk in grace.

Sometimes in order for someone to be open to receive God’s grace, they must face their sin. They need to admit that they have made mistakes in trying to go it alone. They need God in order to get through the winding paths of life.

God is calling us to be the one to help them through that discovery time. As we help them see where they fall short we also are called to love them as Christ loved them. We are not to judge, rather we are to offer grace and forgiveness: the grace and forgiveness that comes through a relationship with Jesus. God sets us on our feet and shows us where we are to go. God shows us who needs the message of grace and hope and gives us the courage to open the door for them.

Lord, you have set us on our feet. Help us to listen for your leading that we might share your love and forgiveness with those you put in our path. Amen.

John 8:12   ¹² Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

Jesus is our light. He guides us through the dark times. He leads us on the path with the light of his love. We are given that light and if we put our trust in him we will never walk in the darkness again.

It is hard for us to accept that Jesus is with us wherever we go. Sometimes we hide in the darkness. We don’t want to look at those things we do that displease God. We hope that if we just don’t look, they will go away.

But the light of Christ reveals those dark places so that we can deal with them. It may mean that we must repent, turn away, from the things we know we shouldn’t do. That may mean changing our situation in life, avoiding those friends and places that would lead us astray. It might mean that we need to make amends with those we have hurt. We need to that the first steps to reconcile broken relationships and heal old wounds.

Throughout it all Christ’s light will shine on the path to forgiveness, wholeness, healing, and righteousness. We don’t have to be afraid because Jesus is with us. We carry his light inside of us and we can be bearers of that light for the world.

Lord, shine your light on those dark places in our lives. Help us to do whatever is necessary to rid our lives of the darkness and to walk in the light of your love. Amen.

Isaiah 43:16-19  ¹⁶ Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,  ¹⁷ who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:  ¹⁸ Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.  ¹⁹ I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Do you remember a time when God brought you out of a difficult circumstance? Are you in a difficult place now? It could be that God is calling you to do a new. As we start to perceive that things are going to change we begin to feel uncomfortable with the way things are. We know that the place we are in is no longer working for us. We need to make a change. But we don’t know how to make the changes necessary to begin that new life.

God is doing that new thing in our lives. We need to look for direction as we step out in faith. We may experience a wilderness time as we look for the new path we need to walk. It can be an uncomfortable time but we can remember that God has been with us in the past. God has gotten us through the difficult times and God will lead us through this time as well.

O Lord, are you calling us to a new thing? Help us to listen for your voice. Help us to look for the signs of your leading. Bring us into our new life even as you have led us in the past, Thank you for showing us the way. Amen.