In life, many times we have stood at various crossroads not knowing in which direction we should move. At any given crucial point, we are bombarded with options and we end up being confused or lost among all those options. There are many paths that look promising, colorful and offer lots of fun. There are also those that look dull and lifeless. We should never choose paths just by looking at them because they might be wrong for us. After all, appearances could be deceptive !!!
Let us open the treasure book to hunt out clues on how to choose right path when at a cross road.
OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK 
Paths to avoid
Do not enter the path of the WICKED, and do not walk in the way of EVIL. Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.
Proverbs 4:14-15
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the UNGODLY, nor stands in the path of SINNERS, Nor sits in the seat of the SCORNFUL
Psalms 1:1
We should never choose the path that wicked people take – cheating & tricking others, hurting and consciously causing trouble for others, and all similar evil ways. God detests evil and hence we should never choose such paths, nor walk in it. But consciously avoid it and turn away from it. Many times, we only see those evil options to climb up the ladder in life. If the way is evil, avoid it and turn away from it; Do not enter it or walk in it.
We should also not walk in the counsel of ungodly as we will also be at the risk of being UNGODLY. We should not stand in the path of sinners nor sit with scoffers. For example, if some of our close friends rebel against their parents to get things done their way, or hang out at places not meant for them, or mock others and bully them – seeing them do these often, we too will feel those are normal things to do and end up being influenced by them. So do not walk in the council of ungodly / sinners / scoffers as those always follow evil ways. Do not choose any evil person as your influencer as such people can influence you into their evil ways. Hate evil and every evil way as we already learned in The Fear of the Lord.
The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.
Proverbs 4:19
Taking the path of the wicked and evil is like walking in darkness. When you walk in darkness you do not see your path or see what lies ahead of you or even where you are headed to. It is as if you are blind and cannot see. When you are in the council of evil and follow their path, it is like a blind man leading another blind. Imagine two blind men walking together, they both have no idea about what lies ahead and can stumble and fall. This is what happens when we follow the path of the wicked – we stumble and fall not knowing what made us stumble. Even if we choose the evil path to climb UP the ladder of life, in reality we are FALLING down, not realizing it.
Do not be in the COUNCIL OF EVIL and do not choose the WAY OF EVIL, nor stand in it nor walk in it. But avoid it and turn away from it. The path of the wicked is like darkness and leads to stumbling and falling.
Ponder Your Path
Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.
Proverbs 4:26
Always ponder your path before taking a step. To Ponder means to carefully think about before making a decision. Pondering will help us to analyse our path and find out the pros and cons and where it will eventually lead us to – destruction or life. All your ways will be established if you invest in carefully thinking about it.
If we do not ponder, we might take the path of the wicked and do not realize it or even recognize it. Without knowing, we would be walking in utter darkness. This happened to David while he was king (2 Samuel 11). It was a time when he had many servants and army heads who worked for him and he had all the pleasures of life at the command of his voice.
During spring when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab his army commander and other servants with him to battle while he remained at his palace. One evening, David walked on the roof and saw a beautiful woman bathing. David inquired about the woman and found she was Bathsheba, who was married to Uriah who was a soldier in David’s army. David committed adultery with her knowing she was married. However, did not realize he was sinning and walking in the path of evil. The woman conceived and when David knew it, he tried to trick Uriah but the plan did not work out. David then asked Joab, his army commander to put Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle and withdraw forces from him so that he may die. Joab did so and Uriah was killed. Even after all this, David did not realize he was walking in the wrong path. After Bathsheba mourned for her husband, David took her as wife and she bore him a child. The thing that David had done displeased God, but he neither recognized the path he took nor his mistake. God sent prophet Nathan to David and only then David had a realization of the path he took and the sins he committed. The realization, even though late, helped him from turning away from the path of destruction. However, he had to bear the punishment for his sin.
So make sure to ponder the path of your feet before you step into it so as not to be walking in evil ways.
Ponder the path of your feet.
The right path
Acknowledge God in all your ways and He will show us the right path.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
Proverbs 3:6
And He shall direct your paths.
The right path is full of light and shines bright.
Like how wicked ways are completely dark, the right way is always filled with bright sunlight.
But the path of the just is like the shining sun,
Proverbs 4:18
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
God Himself guards and preserves the path .
He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.
Proverbs 2:8
Our souls will be at rest.
When we rest physically, we are relaxed, happy and at peace. Worries or anxieties do not overtake us. Similarly, when we choose the right path our souls will be at peace and happy.
Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find REST for your SOULS. ”
Jeremiah 6:16
Acknowledge God in all your ways and He will show us the right path which is full of light and shines bright. God Himself guards and preserves the path and our souls will be at rest.
Treasures uncovered
Do not be in the COUNCIL OF EVIL and do not choose the WAY OF EVIL, nor stand in it nor walk in it. But avoid it and turn away from it. The path of the wicked is like darkness and leads to stumbling and falling.
Ponder the path of your feet.
Acknowledge God in all your ways and He will show us the right path which is full of light and shines bright. God Himself guards and preserves the path and our souls will be at rest.
When we see life in a bigger frame, there are only two destinations – eternal life and eternal suffering. The path to eternal life is narrow and that is Jesus – the one and only way. Wide and many are the paths to destruction. All Evil and Ungodly paths leads to eternal destruction. But the good news is you can change your direction to eternal life. When you realize you have taken the wrong path, turn from it, repent and receive Jesus as your savior.
Prayer:
Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.
Psalm 25:4
Bible lessons 4 young Christians 