The Red Path or Waypoints?

Yesterday I wrote about my hike at Red Hills and the waypoints that other people had put on the electronic map I was using. Had I followed them, I would have been following something I couldn't see, because that person's trail wasn't outlined in red as the designated trail was. I shared how it was similar to the voices we can choose to listen to. We can listen to the Shepherd's voice, or the voice of a stranger. Hopefully, we'll listen to the Shepherd's voice.

As I was having my quiet time today, a verse came to me that had briefly popped in my mind yesterday as I wrote. Yesterday's post took me quite some time to get it right, and I'm still not sure it's right. For a post to take hours to compile is pretty rare, which makes me think there's another principle I can apply to it.

Remember how I shared that the trail on the map was outlined in red, so it was easy to follow? If I had taken the suggestions made by others (the waypoints), I would have strayed from that red line and had no way to know which way to go next. Once I strayed, I was dependent on other people's suggestions to help me finish the hike.

Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." Just like my map, His Word illuminates the way for us so that we have no doubt which direction to go. Unfortunately, we get bombarded with waypoints from people who think they have a better route. When we stray from His Word to follow those other suggestions, we are walking blindly, guided by the world rather than the Originator of the trail. When we choose to follow the suggestion of another, we can't be certain where we'll end up. But if we'll stick to His highlighted path, paying attention to His words in red, we can have certainty about where they'll lead us.

Jesus says in John 10:27-28, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand." That's the promise and certainty we have when we follow His Path.