Considering His Ways

 

I will meditate on your precepts and focus on your behavior. I find delight in your statutes; I do not forget your instructions.  Psalm 119:15-16 NET

 Today, I feel like I grasp a different version of these verses more. Here’s the NIV’s version, “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” Matthew Henry, in his commentary, opened my eyes to an understanding of this when he said, “…I will have respect unto thy ways, as the traveller has to his road, which he is in care not to miss and always aims and endeavours to hit.” Instantly this brought to mind a story my husband told me of his first backpacking trip nearly ten years ago. He had never been on a backpacking trip, had never really hiked much for that matter, and he had decided to do this alone. He had chosen a very challenging trail, one that led to the Enchanted Valley in the Olympic National Forest. After driving hours to get there, he checked in with the ranger. She took one look at him and told him he’d never make it 1/3 of the way there. That sealed the deal for him. He wasn’t going to give up. He wasn’t going to quit!

 As he got going on the hike, it was beautiful, but wet. It rained pretty much the entire day, and not having done this before or known any better, he was wearing jeans. Undeterred, he set off into the forest, following the path that was clearly marked at the trail head. As he got further along, however, he found that the path wasn’t as clearly marked at all points. This was April and damage to the trail from the winter storms had not yet been fully cleared. There were limbs and even trees down across the path. What at other times had been clear markings of the intended route were, in the spring, obscured. He came to a point where it seemed pretty clear that the path ended at a river and, he assumed, was to be taken up on the other side. So, he did what he thought he had to do, and he crossed the water. It wasn’t too deep, but it was fast and very wet. Once he got to the other side, however, he was unable to recognize any indications of the path. He walked in circles, seemingly forever, adding nearly 3 miles to his journey, before he conceded that the path must not have crossed the river and he had to go back to where he was. After recrossing the water and making his way down the riverbank for a ways, he finally caught sight of the trail once again. Continuing on, he took small breaks to grab a bite to eat or a cup of coffee, but didn’t quit. He didn’t call it a day. As the evening wore on, he found himself beyond tired. He was truly exhausted. He caught himself several times falling asleep standing up, bracing himself on his hiking poles. But still, he didn’t quit. Finally, well after dark, he made it to the Enchanted Valley. He wouldn’t get to truly see its beauty until after sunrise the next day, but his joy was in completing his goal, finishing his journey.

 What does all this have to do with Psalm 119? Today, this is the picture God gave me to illustrate, “I mediate on your precepts and consider your ways.” Just as my husband had to pay close attention to the path he was attempting to follow through the forest, we have to diligently keep our eyes on the way that God has laid out before us. In the same way that the trail had been obscured by winter storm damage, sometimes our way is confused by outside circumstances, distractions, or trauma. I’ll never forget the part where he crossed the river thinking that the path continued on the other side. Today, with his long experience, he would never do that. Unless there was some clear marker or he had been informed by trail guides or the ranger that the path intentionally crossed a river, he would never assume that if a path led up to the water it must mean that he was supposed to cross it. In the same way, the more we are familiar with the Holy Spirit, the more engaged we are with Him in our lives, the less likely we are to make a false assumption about where He is leading us. We can balance what we are seeing and experiencing in the moment with what we know about God and His Word that is hidden in our heart. Seeing the river in front of us would bring us to a hard stop, automatically looking for other routes rather than setting foot into it’s chilly waters. But you can’t do better until you know better. That perspective of experience really changes how we even see things around us, let alone what we do with them.

 Just as my husband has learned the “ways of the woods” and can better follow a path these days, though that doesn’t always keep him from dangling off the side of a cliff by his ice axe, I can better follow God’s path for me in my life today than I could ten or twenty years ago. The more of God’s Word that I have hidden in my heart, the more I can measure the things I encounter and see if they are of God or not. When I face a Y in the road, God’s path is illuminated for me much more clearly most of the time because I can see His footprints on it. Yes, there are times when I feel like I am fighting through the brambles and I haven’t caught sight of the path in days, weeks, or maybe even months, but even in this I can still feel His presence with me and His hand guiding me.

Here's the Thing: The more we meditate on God’s precepts, the more I delight in His decrees, the more I do not neglect His Word, the more I can consider His ways. It all goes together and spells relationship. The more we know God, the more we can recognize Him in things and places where we wouldn’t expect Him. The more we understand WHO He is, the better we can know WHERE He is.