Gone Astray

Have you ever gone astray? Have you gone down a bad road for a time and made a conscious choice to return to the good road? Are you going down the wrong path now and looking for a way to get back on the right path?

We make many choices as we go through our lives. In fact, we make many choices each day. Some choices are not very impactful, while others are extremely important. Some choices are made habitually, and others require time to evaluate the options and time to think.

We can make some small choices that add up. One small misstep here and another there can start us down a path of destruction. Unfortunately, we often blow off those small missteps as a “one time” occurrence, believing they won’t happen again. Therein lies the illusion Satan wants us to believe. He uses our willingness to believe the “little white lie” to pull us one step at a time away from the path God wants us to walk.

Here is the good news—we can choose to step back on the right path. It isn’t typically an easy thing to do. It requires making the tough choice to change our actions, behaviors, and thought processes. It may require us to disassociate from people we call friends. It may require us to give up habits we like. It may require us to ask for forgiveness from someone we have offended. It will definitely require us to rely on God to help us.

God has provided us with His Spirit to guide us. When we ask with an earnest heart and listen for Him, He will guide us. He often guides us without our asking. It’s that small voice inside us that tells us the right thing to do. It’s the nudging to go in specific direction. The question we must ask ourselves is, “Will we listen and follow?”

We can choose to step onto the path God has prepared for us. When we have and we have spent a significant amount of time on that path, we can look back and see the destructive path we were on. It takes reflection to both recognize the path we are currently on and to review the various paths we have been on. It is through reflection that we learn more about ourselves, how Satan has tripped us up, and how God has been working in our lives.

I pray we all spend some time reflecting on our lives. I pray we make the choice to follow the path God has prepared for us. I pray each one of us listens for and follows the Holy Spirit’s guidance. See the path you are on. Choose God’s path. Reflect on your life. Make a positive change. Follow the Holy Spirit.

1 Peter 2:25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.