A young Ensign, after nearly completing his first overseas cruise, was given an opportunity to display his capabilities at getting the ship underway. With a stream of commands he had the decks buzzing with men, and soon he ship was steaming out of the channel en route to the states. His efficiency, in fact, established a new record for getting a destroyer underway so he was not surprised when a seaman approached with a message from the captain. He was a bit surprised, however, to find it was a radio message and even more surprised to read, “My personal congratulations upon completing your underway preparation exercise according to the book and with amazing speed. In your haste, however, you have overlooked one of the unwritten rules – make sure the captain is aboard before getting underway.” I wonder how often we hurry up and take off on some portion of our journey through life without making sure Jesus is on board!
That thought is appropriate since the 23rd Psalm depicts a life-long journey. And we, just like sheep, sometimes do not know where we are going, or how to get where we want to go, So WE NEED A GUIDE all along the way. “He guides me....” Too often we think we know the way; we travel where we want to; we live the way we desire. But remember that Scripture points out (Prov14:12 & 16:25) that THERE IS A WAY WHICH SEEMS RIGHT TO A PERSON, BUT ITS END IS DEATH. Sheep, left alone, meandering their own way, end up dead. Is it any wonder that Isaiah wrote (53: 6) “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” We, too, are stiff necked, stubborn, creatures of habit; we easily lose our direction and purpose. We follow the same trails and paths until they are rutted out; we graze the same hills until they become desert wastes; we pollute our own ground until it’s corrupt with disease. What am I talking about? Just look at all the broken homes and hearts, the twisted personalities and sick, tragic, and even sometimes evil events all around us. We need a guide.
So while there may be a way which seems right it is not; its end is death. That’s why THE SHEPHERD CAREFULLY GUIDES HIS SHEEP ALONG THE PATHS OF LIFE. In the words of Phillip Keller, “There must be a pre-determined plan of action, a deliberate, planned rotation from one grazing ground to another in line with right and proper principles of sound management....no other aspect of the ranch operations commended more of my careful attention than the moving of the sheep.” The shepherd knows the way; he has been that way before; he has scoped it out. His path is is part of a plan and a purpose.
Thankfully we know that JESUS IS THE WAY. He even said, “I am the way...” Back in the mid 80’s Barb and I decided to travel to the Holy Land. We’d never been there, so we wanted to go with someone who had been. We wanted to follow someone who had checked out the hotels, the tour groups, the transportation, the restaurants - someone who had scoped out where we were headed. We wound up going on a tour with the Rev. Dr. Paul Maier, who had been there many times previously because of his position as a professor and archeologist. It was a fabulous trip. So when it comes to our life journey, Jesus Christ has scoped out the way where we’re going. He has been this way before; he has an intimate knowledge of the paths we must travel. He knows what arrangements to make. And He invites us simply to follow him on a fabulous trip.
Missionary Elizabeth Elliot wrote: “Look back over the way the Lord has brought you. Sometimes it seemed that there weren’t any rivers, wells, pools, or springs. Nothing but sand. No lovely acacias or wild olives, only barrenness. The trouble was I hadn’t learned to find them. I was trying to travel alone. I made the same mistake when I first went to live as a missionary in the South American jungle. After one bad experience of getting lost, I learned to follow an Indian guide. He knew the trails. He could find water to drink (inside a bamboo, for example, if there wasn’t a river handy), honey in a hollow tree, fruit where there seemed to be no fruit. I couldn’t see them. I didn’t know where to look. The Indian did. He could make a cup out of a palm leaf, build a fire in the rain, construct a shelter for the night in an hour or so. I was helpless. He was my helper.” Jesus is our guide and our way.
In Jesus we have not only our guide for the journey, but through Him WE RECEIVE GUIDANCE by which to travel. “He guides me in paths...” What are these paths? What does David mean? As a shepherd He knew that there were many different paths the sheep had to travel to arrive at their destination - some through lush fields, some over mountains, others through valleys. Some were easy, some were hard. But as the shepherd, he knew the proper way to go which would be best for the sheep.
The word used for ‘path’ here points to at least two ideas. First it points to the fact that we receive guidance FOR OUR LIFESTYLE. Certainly Jesus has given us directions as to how to “walk” each and every day, and mandates and counsel concerning how to live. He calls us to a life of discipline - spiritual, moral, ethical, intellectual discipline. Jesus said, (Mark 8:31ff.) that we are to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. WE MUST DENY OURSELVES.
How do we do that? We do what Jesus tells us to do. We love others more than ourselves; we stand alone against the crowd; we let go of our rights and own up to our responsibilities. We bring our wills under His control. It has been said that 9/10 of discipleship lies in the will. Our wills must coincide with Jesus’. Each of us needs to make a conscious decision to do what He says and go where He leads, even if it means leaving behind the familiar and the known territory and even if it is difficult. As some rabbinical writings put it, “Hasten to perform the slightest commandment, and flee from sin; for the performance of one commandment leads to another and one transgression leads to another. The reward of a commandment is another to be fulfilled, and the reward of one transgression is another.” We must walk on and move ahead with Him.
So Jesus calls us to FOLLOW THE PATH OF DISCIPLINE. Herb Caen wrote, “Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle; when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.” Commit yourself to run the path of Jesus.
We also receive guidance FOR LIFE’S CIRCUMSTANCES. We do not control much of what happens to us and around us. There are events and circumstances we do not choose but in which we participate. In fact, we don’t plan the time of our birth, the culture or family into which we’re born; we don’t determine our physical looks or mental capacity. All you need to do is look back on your life and reflect on all the “chance” happenings, the “coincidental” events that in reality bear the mark of a higher hand and design. GOD IS AT WORK. We need to accept life as it comes. The very next verse of Psalm 23 talks about going through the valley - life is not always easy or fun. But God is at work. He is doing what He needs to do to keep us on the right path. Billy Graham put it: “God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness. In His wisdom, He knows that an uncontrolled life is an unhappy life, so He puts reins on our wayward souls that they may be directed into paths of righteousness.” God is at work.
Perhaps that’s why Paul, in Philippians, said we are to do everything without complaining or arguing, so we can become blameless and pure and shine as stars! Let us not be so quick to forget our blessings nor too slow to forget our misfortunes. WE MUST THROW OURSELVES UTTERLY INTO THE ARMS OF GOD. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer has written, “It involves taking one’s life in stride, with all its duties and problems, its successes and failures, its experiences and helplessness. It is in such a life that we throw ourselves utterly into the arms of God and participate in his sufferings in the world and watch with Christ in Gethsemane. That is faith...and what makes (us) Christian.” We learn this from the band of lowly disciples who were radically transformed into the founders of the New Testament church. God chooses what we go through; we choose how we go through it.
It’s important to know that the word “tribulation” comes from the Latin word “tribulum.” A tribulum was a heavy wooden frame with iron spikes beneath it, which was drawn by oxen across the threshing floor to separate grain from chaff. Our word “tribulation” has the same root as this word. Tribulation often threshes chaff from our lives and puts us back on the path of following Jesus. So when you think the path is too tough, that maybe you’re on the wrong path, remember that God is at work – and throw yourself into His arms.
God is also at work, the Psalmist continues, as “He guides me in paths of righteousness.” Paths, unlike culdesacs, lead somewhere. The PATHS OF JESUS LEAD TO RIGHTEOUSNESS. By following Him we are brought to a right destination. Just as the sheep were led over all the paths to safe pasture, and ultimately to home, so are we. Exodus 15:13: “In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.” GOD LEADS US TO HIMSELF.
God leads us to Himself so He can work His will in us. What is at stake is the fulfillment not of our will but of the divine will; the will of God will be brought to completion – in ma and in you. As Paul wrote it, “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” God works His will in us! Following Christ on the right paths will always bring us to the heart of God and into His will for us. As we testify in the Heidelberg Catechism, “Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.” God guides us only in paths of righteousness.
But how can we be sure of all of this? WE HAVE A GUARANTEE. Listen to David: “He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” A good shepherd knows that no other class of livestock requires more careful handling and direction than sheep. He knows his reputation is on the line in how he guides and protects his sheep. That’s why Jesus’ story about the shepherd going out after the one sheep made so much sense - the honor of the shepherd was at stake. In Ezekiel 20, God speaks clearly. He recites a litany of Israel’s rebellion, but does so within the parameters of His grace, honor, and reputation. “They rebelled against me and would not listen to me…But for the sake of my name…I led them out of Egypt…I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us…Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the desert…But for the sake of my name…I looked on them with pity and did not destroy them…But the children rebelled against me…But I withheld my hand, and for the sake of my name…” GOD KEPT LEADING ISRAEL TO HIMSELF FOR HIS NAME’S SAKE.
The truth is that God could have, and should have, let us go our wandering way many times; we have deserved it. God could have, and should have, cut us off from His grace many times. But because of His faithfulness to the covenant, because of His own honor, for the sake of His name God does not and will not let us go. He will not cut us off. The only reason we recover when we fall, the only reason we are found when we are lost, the only reason we are preserved so often even when we are unaware is because of God’s honor. GOD’S HONOR AND REPUTATION ARE AT STAKE IN OUR LIVES. As Paul ends his glorious hymn in Philippians 2, he says that Jesus was raised and exalted, and that everyone will call Him Lord, “...to the glory of God the Father.”God’s honor is at stake. Hebrews 11:16 reminds us that God is not ashamed to be called our God “for he has prepared a city for (us).” He will bring us home! His honor is at stake! That’s why Scripture teaches us that men like David, Joseph, and Nehemiah were a blessing to all around, “because God was with them.” It is His honor that is at stake in all our lives. And He will not dishonor Himself – of that we can be sure!
Robert Smith’s recollection is good for us this morning. He wrote, “When I meditated on the word Guidance, I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person, and gentle guidance and skill from the other. My eyes drew back to the word Guidance. When I saw "G: I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i". "God, "u" and "i" dance." God, you, and I dance. As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God lead.”
When you’re ready to run down the next path of your life’s journey, or the next time you’re not sure which path to take, stop. Throw yourselves into the arms of God – and dance! Let Him lead. He’ll guide. And by the way, after your dance He’ll even bring you home!
