By Charmaine Hibberd

Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Proverbs 4:25-26

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I can read a verse and simply let it pass me by. Reading my Bible becomes like a discipline in those times, which I don’t resent as it is always valuable to daily remind ourselves of the ways of God.

However, there are the occasions when a verse or part of scripture stands out and slaps me in the face!

Today was such a day.

I read the above verses and was struck. Never before had I noticed the phrase ‘mark out’.

God does not simply say ‘follow the straight path’, he tells us to mark it out for ourselves.

This tells me that God wants us to be involved in the direction of our lives.

He has given us His Word as a guide; we need to soak it up and apply it to our ‘marking out’.

When we are in the throes of making some fairly substantial decisions in our lives, I sometimes wonder if, in making these changes to our world, we can become a little timid because we may not mark out a path that is ‘God’s will’ for our lives.

My Pastor has mentioned on a number of occasions that God is attracted to movement.

He likes to see us take the initiative in our lives and make plans, just so long as we hold those plans lightly and are always open to correction, challenge or change.

What movement are you resisting in your life because you are fearful that it may not be God’s will?

Perhaps it is time to step out and push some doors and see what God does.

After all, He doesn’t direct our stillness, He directs our steps.