It was a warm summer day and a group of us were supposed to be following our compass on the path to the next clue. We read it as best as we could through treed areas, grassy areas, and road, but eventually ended up walking through some high grass. It was so high, my nephew lifted up my young daughter on his shoulders or we might have lost her. If I remember right, we gave up that challenge because we couldn’t find the correct path and we were tired.
Two of us, my nephew and I, didn’t sleep very well that night as we both had very itchy ankles. I though I’d gotten spider bites, he thought he had an allergic reaction of some kind, but since we both had the same problem, we concluded we’d walked through some poison ivy in the tall grass. Most of the group had been wearing pants and socks, but the two of us and my daughter had on shorts and no socks. We wondered why Amy didn’t break out, but finally realized she’d been carried through the infected area. That’s what we got for walking on man’s path instead of the right path.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Pr. 14:12
Man’s ways say we can attain ‘god within us’, we can ‘be powerful’, we can achieve anything we want/ speak/ dream, we can perform prayers, go to church, do good works to obtain salvation, we can just follow the commandments, we can contribute to humanity/ the earth, etc. All these are the ways of man and the end of them is death.
Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6 Another scripture, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 John 10 speaks about Jesus being the door to the sheepfold (heaven) and anyone who enters by any way other than the door (Jesus) is a thief and brigand.
God’s ways are not man’s ways. They are far from our finite comprehension. While we are limited in our understanding, God is not hampered by the same limits. He chose how to bring His army victory- there were many diverse ways He did this in the Old Testament. Jesus used various methods to heal people. Old and New Testaments are chock full of differing techniques used to teach the people through man.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Is. 55:9
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Rom.
Man’s ways are based on his own wisdom, logic, and rational: we don’t need to seek the Lord’s direction for these. But the end of these ways are death. God’s ways are perfect (Ps. ), and righteous (Ps. 145:17). Carnal man thinks God’s ways are ‘crazy’, ‘wild’, and ‘foolish’, but we must remember the carnal mind is enmity against God (Rom. 8:7). The carnal mind is in opposition to, cannot understand, and hates the way of God. Why would we want to use that part of us to make decisions on the way we should go?
We try to follow ‘steps’ to achieving something, ‘strategies’ to improve this or that, ‘formulas’ for successful blah, blah, blah, but those are man’s ways, unassisted and undirected by God. If the Lord did everything by specific steps, strategies or formulas, then we would never need to seek Him for direction, we could just do them. But He wants us to seek Him (Jer. 29:13), inquire from Him (Ps. 27:4), and follow Him (Mt. ) so He can direct our paths (Pr. 3:6). We need to follow His ways, not our ways!
…hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 1Cor.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1Cor.
God said through Haggai, “…consider your ways” (1:5,7). These men did not inquire direction from God and it led to trouble: Joshua (Josh. ), Saul (1Chr. ), those who turned from God (Zep. 1:6). David did inquire direction from God and it brought victory and great success (1Sm. 23:2,4; 30:8; 2Sm. 2:1; 5:19,23; 21:1). Following man’s way and not the right way led our hiking group into an unseen patch of poison ivy and a lot of grief. Man’s way will always get us into trouble. God’s way leads to victory.
Which way do you want to take?