So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. Deuteronomy 5:32 (NIV)

I love walking in the woods and this last weekend was a beautiful time for enjoying God’s creation and the explosion of autumn color. As I was walking along the main trail, I noticed another smaller path forking off and, out of curiosity, started following that path. After a short time of walking along what looked like a path I suddenly realized there was no path. Nothing in front of me and nothing behind, either, and I was far enough from the main trail that I couldn’t see that, either. Fortunately, I am quite familiar with these woods and was never in danger of getting lost, but it reminded me of how easily we can get side-tracked from following the path God has laid before us. The Lord’s direction is clear, yet out of curiosity, or maybe even rebellion, we decide to start following a different path and before we know it we are lost without any clear direction and we can’t see our way back to the main trail. The only place to go when we find ourselves in this situation is to our knees to ask our Savior to show us the way back.

The very steps we take come from God; otherwise how would we know where we’re going? Proverbs 20:24 (Msg)

Thank you, Lord, for your guidance, for your patience and protection when I wander, and for your faithfulness in leading me back.