Sunday, January 17, 2010

Direction of Steps

Who gets to decide which way to go in life?   Is it your choice as to where to go, where you will be?  Before you jump to the yes conclusion, such great exercises jumping that way though…  We can make decisions most definitely, we decide all sorts of things.   But how are our steps really directed?
“I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps,” (Jeremiah 10:23).
The answers come in the words before and after this phrase.  It was a lifetime ago when a group of 8th and 9th graders headed to the University of Chicago History Museum with a few adults other than me in tow.  Entering one hall, the kids looked over a large stone statue that had once been worshipped by a people who are now long dead.  Gathering around it, one of the kids asked me – “how could they ever worship something like this?  Were they just stupid, I mean it’s just rock!”  I could understand where he was coming from, to this teen, looking at something from the perspective of 2000 plus years later.  So, let’s change the clock and move it forward. 
The words of Jeremiah 10 are still so applicable!  The Lord cautions Israel to stand apart, to “not be terrified by the signs in the sky.”  There have been some pretty terrifying signs in the sky haven’t there.  September 11, changed so much.  Do you remember the uneasy feeling when the flights started running again?    We don’t have to be afraid! 
The “customs of the people are worthless” they are worshipping things that we can make by hand.  Think about it, how much time have been spent on hobbies, resources of time, money, emotions spent on wasteful things.  This next part is just so amazingly worded that I’m going to just let you read it yourself, “Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk.  Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good."
The Lord is so unique, so mighty – it does make sense to trust him to determine our steps.  

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