"For I have stayed in God's paths."

Job 23:11-12 "For I have stayed in God’s paths. I have followed his ways and not turned aside. I have not departed from his commands but have treasured his word in my heart."

Can you say this about you? Staying in God’s path is not an easy thing to do. There are so many opportunities we face every day to wander off His path. God is leading us down a path of righteousness and holiness that leads to heaven. We want to get there, but we often don’t want to follow the path that leads us there. We are drawn to those paths that lead us away from God. We like what we see in the world around us and often pursue it.

The path of God requires much of us. We must be totally committed to it. We must not only hear the Word, we must live it. We must be students of the Word so we can easily determine what God wants us to do. We must be students of prayer so we can discern the heart of God as He ministers to our hearts. We must be haters of evil and resist the urge to pursue it. We must learn self-control so that our eyes, ears, minds, mouths, and hands are not gateways to sin in our lives. We must desire the things of God to the point where we invest our lives in their pursuit.

The path to God is full of many obstacles along the way. We are under constant attack and pressured to wander off it. The only way we can stay the course is to take charge of our souls. We must work hard to keep ourselves on track. We must not make excuses for ourselves. We must always let the Lord do whatever He wants and needs to do in us to make us a holy people after His own heart. We must treasure God's Word in our hearts so that the Lord has something to work with.

It takes a lot of determination and effort to stay on God's path, but great is the reward for those who do it.