Listen

I call heaven and earth as my witnesses against you right now: I have set life and death, blessing and curse before you. Now choose life—so that you and your descendants will live— by loving the Lord your God, by obeying his voice, and by clinging to him. That’s how you will survive and live long on the fertile land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors: to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Think

“Fatal accidents have happened here” said the sign at the entrance to the national park. “I bet they have,” I thought. I was leaving the park with a group of youth after a day of hiking. The location was beautiful, with steep gorges and lush greenery. But it hadn’t gone well.

As we hiked along earlier in the day, one of the younger members of our group lost her footing and slid down a steep incline. She clung to a small tree growing on the slope while the rest of us worked feverishly to reach her and help her back to the path, shaken and crying.

Once we finally got her back to safety, “what ifs” filled my brain. What if she’d fallen all the way down? What if we hadn’t been able to reach her?

It was only on our way out that I saw the “fatal accidents” sign. The warning was there! But we had not seen (or maybe ignored) it.

In this passage, God is letting us know that there are both dangerous and fruitful paths out there: paths that lead to life and paths that lead to death. We just need to listen for God’s voice.

Jane Claspy Nesmith

Pray

Loving and path-making God,

Help me to be aware of the paths before me.

Help me to turn away from the path of death and follow the path of life.

Amen.

Go

Refreshed by God’s loving messages for you,

Prepare yourself for your journey.

Step out once more,

Ready to follow the path God has shown you.