During Advent we often ask ourselves, or should ask ourselves, which way should I go? Life is filled with paths and forks, easy paths and hard, good paths and bad. One of my favorite poems as a child, which inspired me to begin writing my own poetry, was Robert Frosts, “The Road Not Taken“. How many of us are at those very same forks in the road? How many of us are looking to find which road we should walk down?
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.”1
In the Bible, God is compared many times to a shepherd. How deep that statement is. It seems so simply on the surface but there are so many little pieces of the puzzle that fit together once we begin to look at God not just as the King, the Prophet, the Almighty Creator.. but in the light of a lowly shepherd. What does a shepherd have to do with the above quote?
Shepherds walk behind their flock. As they walk behind them they watch out from their vantage point to make sure everyone is moving the way they should be going. He knows where to take them for the best grass, the water, and to the safety of the rocks or their home. He guides them with his staff and with his voice, calling out direction from behind as they walk forward. His watchful eyes are on all of His sheep, making sure that each one of them gets to the place He knows is best for them.
Isaiah reminds us of this fact. That just like the sheep in this illustration we should be listening for God’s voice as we go through our lives. We listen for Him to tell us through our conscience, through our prayers, through the signs He sends us to ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ All too often we try to be the voice of God, telling others the way. We try to stand in the middle of the pack, yelling out at the other members ‘No, not that way!’ Instead we should be teaching them instead to listen for the voice of God, to find God’s will for themselves. We should be reminding them of the sources they can go to to find God’s word, both the written and the living. We should lead them to good shepherds as well that God has appointed, that can help them in their walk.
What are some ways that we can find God’s will in our life? What are some ways we can begin to encourage others to listen for that still small voice?
In Christ,
Brian
1. Isaiah 30:21