Proverbs 14:12 ‘There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death’
DAILY READING; 2 Corinthians 8; 2 Kings 20-21; Nahum 2
Today, “Death Valley” is one of the largest national parks in America. It was given its name by a group of gold prospectors who almost lost their lives in the valley.
In 1848, when gold was discovered in California, many people from all over America began rushing to the region to seek for gold and hope for a new and better life.
In October of 1849, a group of such gold prospectors began their journey from Salt Lake City. They were being led by an experienced guide named Captain Jefferson Hunt who was the only one in the town who knew the trail well. But captain Hunt drove carefully and went at a pace slower than what most of the passengers wanted.
Some of these impatient people became excited when a young man rode up to them claiming to know a better way. He presented a hand-sketched map that showed a fictitous “short cut” across the desert to a place called Walker Pass. The people agreed that this would cut off 500 miles from their journey and help them get to their destination faster. And so while the patient ones decided to continue with Captain Hunt, the impatient ones chose to follow the purported ‘short cut’.
About 20 wagons abandoned captain Hunt and followed the unreliable map, thinking that all they had to do was keep going west and they would eventually arrive at their destination.
But as this group followed the shortcut, they found themselves in areas of deserts, mountains, and barren valleys that seemed to lead nowhere. Eventually they ended up lost.
After weeks of wandering across the desert in no particular direction, they were weary and were almost dying from thirst and hunger.
Finally, they came to a point where the road became so treacherous that they could no longer go on with their carriages. So they decided to leave their wagons and belongings behind and walk. They slaughtered several oxen and used the wood of their wagons to cook the meat.
They then embarked on a treacherous trek across sand dunes, Mountains and Valleys. By now the “short cut” that had lured them away from Captain Hunt’s wagon train, proved to be a long torturous route that trapped them for about four months in the desert before they finally found a trail that led them back to civilization. By the time they emerged from this journey, some of the men had lost their lives and most of their belongings were gone. Their experience and entire ordeal led to the naming of that region ‘death valley.’
Proverbs 14:12 ‘There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death’
Every destiny is at risk without proper guidance.
Life is full of ways that seem right at first, but only end up as paths of death. To avoid them we need to be divinely guided by the One who knows the way.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is all-knowing, all-powerful and everywhere-present. He is tried, true and trustworthy. And it is wisdom to trust Him to guide us in the journey of life.
He is the One with foreknowledge. He knows the end from the beginning and as we trust in Him, He will lead us on the right pathway.
Though we may sometimes walk through the valley of the shadow of death, when God is with us, we shall fear no evil.
Unfortunately today, many lack the patience to wait for God’s guidance and follow His righteous standards.
In the desire to move faster in life, they look for shortcuts to success. But some so called ‘shortcuts’ only end up becoming deathtraps. Certainly, not all that glitters is gold.
To truly go far in life, we must submit to the guidance of the Spirit. The security of our destiny lies in His guidance.
By His help we will be able to escape those pitfalls on life’s pathway that trap men and immobilize their journey.
Indeed for every believer there is no substitute for divine guidance. Either you are guided or you are grounded.
We must therefore avoid spiritual laziness and consciously pay the price of walking the strait and narrow path of spiritual discipline.
This we do by developing sensitivity to the Holy Spirit through fervent prayers, worship and diligent study of the Scriptures.
Through His death and resurrection Jesus has provided a sure path for us to follow to every good thing in life.
And as we follow Him, we will be made and guided into His great and glorious destiny for us.
PRAYER: Lord, please enable me to choose the path of divine guidance so as to avoid the pain of regret in destiny. Thank You Lord for granting me the grace to always follow Your will at all times in Jesus Name.
QUOTE:
God knows how to work everything together in your life for your own good. WORDBITE 222