Day 19

Don’t worry about getting it all right at the beginning because God is constantly adjusting our paths to keep us on track.

“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.”   —ISAIAH 30:21

A man known for his good judgments and wisdom was asked one day how he came to be so wise. “Well”, he said, “I make good judgments because I have had lots of experience.” He was then asked, “Yes, but how did you get all that good experience?” The man replied, “I got it by making lots of bad judgments.” 

When I was in high school we had a teacher who tried to turn our mistakes into virtues by saying, “You learn from your mistakes.” This, of course, is true but better than learning from our own mistakes is learning from the mistakes of others. Mistakes are great teachers. If we are not prepared to make them, we are unlikely to do very much that’s worthwhile. The problem is that some of us have life experiences that tell us mistakes disqualify us – and often we assume that is true with God. 

Isaiah gave some very wise counsel when he said to the people of Judah, “When 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’.” (Isaiah 30:21) The voice is behind because God is not always in front, giving us clear instructions. His guidance is more like a compass, giving us the direction into which to move, but as we do so, there are plenty of blocks and issues on the road to navigate. But if we go wrong, it is not a voice of chastisement that is heard behind us, but a voice of invitation that says, “Come back. This is the way. Walk in it.” 

Paul experienced this on his second missionary journey. Assuming he should go to the province of Asia, he was held back by the Holy Spirit. He then logically concluded he should go to Bithynia, “but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” (Acts 16: 7) It was then he heard a voice behind him saying, “This is the way….” and the Lord led him to Macedonia.

Don’t worry about getting it all right at the beginning because God is constantly adjusting our paths to keep us on track, so that His end purpose is accomplished through us. We see it in the desert wanderings of the Children of Israel, and we will see it in our own lives.