Deuteronomy 30:8
“And you shall again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments which I command you today.”
Moses is referring to how The Lord keeps us walking close to Him. We have a tendency to wander and sometimes, leave Him.
I’ll compare knowing with Christ to walking on a path through a beautiful, but hostile terrain. The path is perfectly safe and is as wide as a two lane highway. However, there are plants that can scrape and infect as well as living things that can bite and sting on the periphery. There is shelter and shade on the path. If we get close to either edge, we lose some of that shelter. We are the safest on the path’s center.
There is freedom to roam on the path, but we learn that His ways are the best. The further we get from them, the more we lose the shade and protection. We can get sun burnt and scraped up. It’s not so much that He is punishing us, but we are leaving the shelter He provides.
Psalm 23 says, “Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.” David is writing from the perspective of a sheep. These are the tools of a shepherd. The staff has the hook that is used to pull the sheep back. The rod is used to get the sheep’s attention. Neither of these are comforting, so what is David talking about? We need to be pulled back from danger or to be disciplined at times. David sees these as rescuing events. Thus, they are not seen as punishment, but life saving.
How does The Lord use the rod and staff with us? He can speak to our hearts, a bible verse jumps out, we can get a sense, our consciences, circumstances, closed doors, advise from others and so on. God’s path isn’t visible. It’s a biblical one, as well as in our hearts (Psalm 84:5). Today’s verse speaks of obedience. They’ve learned to obey by the consequences of their disobedience. We do as well.
Maturity learns to stay on the path through subtle nudges. Immaturity requires the rod; stronger messages. It’s often the result of our selfish choices. Circumstances blow up, people get upset with us, and so on.
Lord, thanks that You keep us on the path. Help us to pay attention to Your subtle nudges.