The Gentle Slope

C.S. Lewis novel, The Screwtape Letters, about spiritual warfare from a demon’s point of view made a lot of wonderful points.  One of which was, “The safest road to hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”  How true that is!  Even the most dedicated Christian can find himself taking the easy road.  The one with the gentle slope.  Satan is kind of like Wile E. Coyote.  He was always trying to do the Roadrunner in.  He would turn signs around or remove them, all to get the Roadrunner to go the wrong way in to his trap. He wanted to eat that Roadrunner.  It is the same with us.  Satan is the hungry lion seeking someone to devour all the time.  He looks for the weak ones, just like a lion.  So he starts throwing little things your way to see where you are weak.  Once he figures that out then he starts pounding harder at your areas of vulnerability.  He does it gradually.  You don’t even realize it is happening sometimes.  It is like taking the leisurely afternoon stroll after dinner down that gentle sloping path through the countryside. Pretty soon you are lost, not knowing how you got to where you are.  Then the devil likes to use guilt trips to sink us further.  He puts blinders on our eyes using our emotions, so we don’t see God’s signs giving us directions on how to get back to the house.  He will use fear of what others will think of us to further close our ears to God’s voice that is calling us back.

II Corinthians 11:3 reminds us about how subtle Satan is with us, “3 But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted from a complete and pure devotion to Christ.

You remember what happened in the Garden of Eden.  The Fall of Man happened because Satan subtly tempted Eve with deceptive words.  He twisted ever so gently what God had told them.  He used her desire to lead her away from God with one bite of the forbidden fruit.  It is a lesson to us to not let our desires get the best of us.  We need to only act upon desires that God allows or has placed on our hearts.  It is also great wisdom to realize that we too can be led astray.  We too can walk down that gentle slope.  Wisdom would dictate that we need to be on guard.  The best way to be on guard is to be in constant communication with God.  We need to be seeking His direction.  He will tell us what path to wonder down.  We should not just take off on our own.  We need to have His Word in our hearts, so that the Holy Spirit can give us clear signposts to follow.  So let wisdom be your guide down God’s path.  It may not be a gentle one he puts you on, but He will provide for you and protect you along the way.  He will give you the energy to climb tough paths and when you need it He will make His gentle slope for you to saunter down while you rest for a bit.

Seek the Lord

If we want to get anywhere in life, we usually have to decide where we are going and what we need to get there.  We have to seek out direction for ourselves in every area of our lives.  For example, a High School student needs to determine while they are in school what they plan to do for a living once they graduate.  What they decide will determine what their focus might be for classes in High School.  When I was in school, I decided to have a career in the business field.  Our school had quite a few elective courses that allowed you to take business classes in high school.  They also had classes designed to prepare you for college.  I decided I needed both those sets of electives to prepare me for College and the Business World.  When it was time I took the appropriate tests and applied for the appropriate College.  As a result of my class elective choices in High School I was a more acceptable candidate for the College and my application was accepted.  Next, I took the appropriate courses in College.  When I graduated, I had the appropriate degrees for my career.  Now as a High School Student in my freshman year I really didn’t have the knowledge or know how to be able to figure out all the steps.  I needed someone to guide me and put me on the right path.  So I sought out the right person to help me.  My High School Counselor gave me good advice.  I basically was walking in darkness until they shed light on the right path to take.

Not only do we need to seek out direction for things like how to make a living so we can survive in this World, but we need to seek out direction spiritually in our lives.  We really need to do that before we do anything else.  Even as a youth, I should have been seeking the Lord and asking Him what direction to go.  I should have asked Him what career or lifestyle or youth group to go to.  We need spiritual light to guide us down God’s path in this World.  Otherwise we will end up stumbling on the path or taking the wrong path altogether.  The Scripture is the Christian’s light that we should be using to guide us.  Read Psalm 119:105.

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.

Wisdom tells us that if we have enough of the Word embedded in our hearts and minds the Holy Spirit can use it to guide us.  He will illuminate the Word so we understand it.  The Word will show us God’s Will.  God’s Will for our lives will never contradict the Word.  The Word will be a light for our path through life.  So seek the Lord through His Word for every area of your life.  No area of our lives should be untouched by God’s light.

If Only

Do you ever get the “If Onlies”?  That’s when you basically regret whatever decision you made, because you now are experiencing the consequences of it.  Such as, “If only I had focused on my college education while I was in College, then maybe I would know what to do in this job situation.”  “If only I had not driven so fast, then I wouldn’t have gotten that ticket.”  “If only I had listen to my parents, then I wouldn’t have stayed with that boy and ended up in this predictment.”  We all get the “If Onlies” once and awhile.  Hopefully, we can learn from them and not make the same mistake twice or even be able to offer advice to others.  God gets the “If Onlies” about us.  Read Psalm 81: 13-14.

13 If only My people would listen to Me and Israel would follow My ways, 14 I would quickly subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their foes.”

God gives us so much that it should be easy to obey Him.  Yet it is like we are never satisfied or we still don’t trust Him.  We are just as stubborn as the Israelites.  They saw so many miraculous and wonderful things done by God and yet they instantly would not obey Him and wonder off His chosen path for them.  They ended up so many times during their history fighting enemies, starving and having their homes taken from them.  God thinks to Himself, “If only My people would have listen to Me and Israel (or put your name here) would follow My ways.”  Look what blessings He would have given the Israelites (or put your name here) if they/we would have only followed Him whole heartedly. If we had not followed our selfish desires, our enemies would have been subdued.  If only we had obeyed, life might have been better.  Wisdom would be not to have the “If Onlies” or to cause God to have the “If Onlies”, but instead to follow His ways and obey.

Better Than A Dozen Roses

What an encouragement the 23rd Psalm is!  It is an awesome power packed passage of encouragement.  Take a moment to read it:

“¹You, LORD, are my shepherd. I will never be in need. ²You let me rest in fields of green grass. You lead me to streams of peaceful water, ³and you refresh my life. You are true to your name, and you lead me along the right paths. ⁴I may walk through valleys as dark as death, but I won’t be afraid. You are with me, and your shepherd’s rod makes me feel safe. ⁵You treat me to a feast, while my enemies watch. You honor me as your guest, and you fill my cup until it overflows. ⁶Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, LORD.”

Now take a moment to list off the points of encouragement from our Lord:

1.  I will never be in need.  That covers physically and spiritually.

2.  He will give me rest in a pleasant place.  Rest from the demands of life, rest from worries, and rest from the spiritual battles.  I only have to rest in Him or depend on Him and not myself.

3.  He leads me to peace.  I just have to follow Him there.

4.  He will refresh me.  I don’t have to do things on my own and in my own strength.  I don’t have to deplete my energy.  He will revive me and energize me.

5.  God is true to His name.  Have you ever read the list of God’s names.  A name tells about the character and we learn alot about God by the names He is called in His Word.  He is true to them all.

6.  He leads me on right paths.  If I follow Him, I will go the right way and get where I am suppose to go.

7.  In the bad times or even as I approach physical death, I don’t have to be afraid, because He is with me.

8.  He protects me and keeps me safe.  I just have to run to Him and seek His shelter.  I don’t have to fight the wolves by myself.  I don’t have to fight them at all.

9.  He provides for me and cares for me.  He shows the enemy that He loves me.

10.  He blesses beyond what we need.  We just need to open our eyes and see those blessings.

11.  God is with us always and will love us always.  Nothing can separate us from God, once we receive Christ as our Savior.

12.  God allows us to live eternally with Him.  Nothing can take away our eternal life, once we receive Christ as our Savior.  We are blessed eternally to be in His presence.

Are you encouraged?  I would say that the 23rd Psalm is better than a dozen roses from that special someone in your life.