“Be strong and very courageous." ~Joshua 1:7
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.” ~Joshua 1:7
There are so many verses that echo this idea - they are liberally sprinkled throughout scripture so you can’t miss them! They picture life as a journey where the righteous way is a straight path. My favorite verse, Proverbs 3:4-6; 4:11, 26 uses this same imagery:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established.”
And the Psalms!
Psalm 16:11; 119_105: "You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Straying from the path connotes wickedness:
Proverbs 2:13, 15: 4:14 “From those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; Whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways; Do not enter the path of the wicked and do not proceed in the way of evil men.”
Jesus lambasted the Pharisees for leading God’s people astray: “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a ditch.”
Matthew 7:13 ““Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
The ‘moral of the story' is clear. God wants us on His pathway - all other roads are full of danger and destruction. But we don’t have to do it alone! He NEVER leaves us and continually put us back on the King’s Highway!
“Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Listen for His voice! ““Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.'” ~Isaiah 30:21
