The Roads Most Traveled

The roads we travel may take us all down the same path, or they may take us down different paths. I'm okay with that. The hard part, the rewarding part, is the travel, and what you do with who you meet on the way.

I have a friend who is graduating on Sunday. He's not entirely certain where he's going in life after this. He's okay with this. He knows that God's going to take care of him. He's also certain that all he needs to do is trust God and go after what God gives him.

I have another friend who is moving up in this world. He's going to become a SEAL. It's a huge deal, and he's worried that he's not going to make it that far. He's leaving family, home, friends, all to do this. He'd already left home and family and friends to join the Navy, but now he's moving further away. He knows that this is where God wants him. God's given him all the open doors to move ahead with this. God's given him the passion to rise above the rest and become a SEAL. He's worried, but he's going ahead because this is where God wants him.

I am not at a crossroads. I am not doing anything special with my life right now, and I'm not going anywhere special, except home for the holidays in about 4 days. And yet, for some reason, the traveled path, the one that's been traveled, the one that I sometimes feel like I'm traveling alone can be the hardest. The only thing hard about a crossroad is coming to them and making the decision about which way to go. The hard thing about plodding along is the plodding. You can easily lose sight of where you are going. If the landscape is not changing, you're liable to think that you aren't going anywhere. This is very dangerous, because if you aren't going anywhere, you might as well sit down and rest. If you're in a battle, resting is the worst thing to do.

Each of us has a personal battle. Joshua, in the old testament had not only a personal battle to fight, but a public one, and he had to lead a bunch of people too. As he was getting ready to do this, and quaking in his boots, God spoke through Moses to Joshua and to the people of Israel. In Deuteronomy 31: 1-8, God speaks amazing wisdom and grace.

Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: "I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The LORD has said to me, 'You shall not cross the Jordan.' The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said. And the LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Do not be discouraged.