Have you ever been lost in a place that was completely foreign to you? Very little is more discombobulating than this. You’re struggling to get your bearings, and you feel so completely out of your element. Human nature is to look for a point of reference, but how do you do this when nothing is familiar to you? It’s one of those times when you find out very quickly what you’re made of. It can also be an opportunity to experience the kindness of others. They may know exactly how to get you from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’, and if they do, you’re so incredibly grateful that they were there to guide you. A person doesn’t have to travel outside of their natural environment to be lost. Life often presents situations that are completely foreign to us, and when it does, we need the roadmap of God’s Word and the compass of the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us.
The psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:133 (NLT), “Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil.” Our Heavenly Father created everything, owns everything, and His love put everything in motion. He’s the definitive authority on all that there is. His Word is golden. 2 Peter 1:3(NLT) tells us, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.” By coming to know God through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we can receive all the knowledge and wisdom we need to live a wonderful life. It’s when we step outside of God’s wisdom and knowledge that we run into trouble.
God will allow us to make our own free-will choices. If we want to party every night, skirt our responsibilities, treat people poorly, and get ourselves into all kinds of trouble, we are free to do so. We will most certainly live beneath our privilege and face harsh consequences if we do these things, but God will not stop us. He’s given us the gift of free-will, and Romans 11:29 assures us that God is not in the business of taking back His gifts. Heavenly Father doesn’t want us wasting a minute of our time on earth, and He wants us to squeeze every drop of happiness out of it that we possibly can. Living by His Word is the way to achieve this.
We can’t make it in this Christian life without being a lover of God’s Word. In Psalm 119:105 (NLT), the psalmist wrote, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” We can see a beautiful path forward when our eyes are locked on God’s statues and precepts, but if our steps are not guided by God’s Word, Psalm 119:133 lets us know that we might be overcome by evil, and verse 134 (NLT) tells us a little bit about how this can happen. It states, “Ransom me from the oppression of evil people; then I can obey your commandments.” The devil will send evil people to deter us from God’s ways. And it is not just through personal connections, but people will use every form available to them to distract us.
In today’s world, they do this through the bombardment of information through media and devises. These are wonderful tools, but they can also be very destructive. When our senses are overwhelmed, we sometimes let our guards down. We allow thoughts into our minds that work against us, and that’s the enemy’s whole plan. Sin begins in the mind. It starts with one thought, and this one thought leads to another, and another, and another. Those sinful thoughts breed sinful actions. Once this sinful thought-action sequence is set in motion, it can become a stronghold of negative habit patterns and addictions. A person that is caught up in this negative cycle might tell themselves over and over again that they’re not going to sin the next time, but they do.
The Apostle Paul wrote about this in Romans 7:21-23(NLT), where he said, “21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.” Sin puts people in bondage. Sin is an enslaver. Every time that we sin, we give the enemy an opportunity to steal from us. This is how the devil enslaves people, by trapping us through our sinful actions. However, this does not mean that we fall down and allow sin to rule over us. God tells us in His Word how to overcome the enslavement of sin.
In Romans 7:24-25 (NLT), the Apostle Paul said, “24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.” God knows our human condition. He knows our every weakness, and this is why He tells us to surrender to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He’s our burden-bearer. He told us in Matthew 11:28-30 to bring our burdens to him and learn about him. We’re to learn how he moves, how he loves, and how he gives. Then, we are to take his lead and do what he does.
Through his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus Christ has set us free from sin and death. God wants us to keep our eyes centered on Jesus so that we walk in the freedom from sin that Christ has provided. Galatians 5:1 (NLT) states “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” The way to remain free from the enslavement of sin is to let God order our steps by staying in the truth of His Word. If we will always do our best to live by God’s Word, and let the Lord Jesus guide us, we will not be bound by sin, but will stay in the protection and care of our Heavenly Father.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“Order My Steps”, written by JMack. 4theChristianMan.Com© 2018. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.