He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake ~ Psalm 23:
What defines your life? When people look at you what do you want them to see or remember? Do you want others to remember you for your hard work, job skills, unique abilities, and helpful spirit, or for your commitment to Christ? Be honest with yourself when you answer. Honestly, for me, several of those identifiers could apply to my ambitions from time to time. I have to constantly work and guard myself from those things. Good or bad, we are all self-centered to a degree. The question is to what degree are you focused on you and to what degree are you focused on the Lord, our Good Shepherd? There are so many great things that you can do for others and it brings so much attention to you. What if you decided to allow the Lord to lead you in everything? What would others say? Would they be surprised? Would you be able to handle righteousness through humility?
The Lord leads you in paths of righteousness
God’s goal for us in life is not success and fame, but righteousness and humility. The world would certainly want you to think differently and our world system is set up to increase man’s status through achievements and other status-elevating pursuits. But in reality, one of the Lord’s main purposes for your life is to lead you in paths of righteousness.
Proverbs 12:28 showed us is a very encouraging verse that reminds us that “In the path of righteousness is life.” Do you really want to experience life? Then walk that path of righteousness.
However, the only way you can really follow the Lord is to embrace humility. You must put your own ambitions aside and allow the Lord to lead you. He doesn’t want to force you into righteousness. He wants to lead you.
Do you want to know the right paths? Read the Bible. Is it that simple? Yes. It is that simple. Don’t just read it, but meditate on it (Joshua 1:8). When you meditate on God’s word, it will make you successful according to the Lord’s definition of success. What an incredible promise.\
The Lord leads you for His Name’s sake
What does this mean? It means that what the Lord does He does so that His name will not be shamed. Let that sink in. The Lord leads you in the right paths because of the reputation of His name. You are never in a good position when you choose to bring shame to the Lord. What happens when you choose to follow your own path rather than the Good Shepherd’s path? I can promise it won’t be good.
This is why you have to demonstrate humility when following the Good Shepherd. Release your own selfish desires and rest in His paths. He loves you so much that He wants you on the right paths. But, He also wants to make sure that in the process, His name will not be put to shame.
This is honestly a very difficult thing to do. Why? Because we think we know the right paths to take and we fail to seek the Lord when making those choices.
Poor choices equal regret and frustration. Make the right choice today. Express humility and allow the Lord to lead you in the right paths.
Some Questions…
What are some aspirations in your life that could be considered selfish?
How can you change your desires from selfish to selfless?
What things will you change to guarantee that your life will bring honor and not shame to the Lord?