Pitfalls

"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost."
J.R.R Tolkien

My friend Dennis and i enjoy a good hike or two each year.  Somehow, to be out in the air away from the bustle of the big city is often enough to revitalize us.  That is, until our next adventure calls us once again.  It is on these treks that we sometimes come across a rogue trail which we don't recognize but seem to sense that it may indeed lead us somewhere interesting.  Sometimes, not knowing where such a side trail will lead, we strike out to see where it leads us.  So it is with our own lives from time to time.  We often know where we should go, but there is something within us that urges us in another direction.  Be it good or bad, we set out on the less than beaten path.  On the hiking trail it's pretty cut and dry, for if we indeed take a wrong turn we can find our own way back.  However, those life paths which we so often choose for ourselves often end up causing more distress than they're worth.  They say that actions have consequences, and nowhere is this more prevelent than in the choices that we make daily.  Granted, we know the way we should go, we know the right path to follow.  The trouble is, the other path may look better than the one which we are on.  Looks can be deceiving.  Throughout scripture we see many a patriarch who instead of choosing the well known path instead chose the easy way, often with some pretty bad consequences.  We all know of the troubles of king David, Moses and of course Adam and Eve.  Eve knew the right path alright, but satans lie directed her to another path which was not so beneficial.  So it is with us.  We know the words of scripture, we know which way we should go, but instead we follow another direction.  Who's voice is it that we are listening to?  Are we heeding the voice of Christ who is within us, or are we following the lie?  That very same lie which satan himself believed when he thought himself higher than God.  The same lie which was told to Eve that she could disobey God and not surely die.  Eve chose the wrong path.  When we strike out believing in our own independence, we follow that very same path.

2By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3and every spirit that does not confess athat Jesus bChrist has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 4You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
1 John 4: 2 - 6 NKJV

Some call it wanderlust or simply a wayward heart.  It is that part of us that continually drives us to seek new and better things.  Behind this is a dangerous belief that we ourselves are independent and in no need of guidance or assistance from anyone.  As I mentioned, it is this same lie which enticed satan to believe that he could be greater than God.  It is that very same lie which he ultimately made known to Adam and Eve in the garden.  For when Eve heard satans words that she could be like God the seed was already planted inside of her.  What followed was the begining of that sin nature which we were all born into {Romans 3:23}.  No matter how strong of a believer we are, eventually we all fall into that pitfall of believing we are independent.  Suddenly, God takes a back seat to our own abilities.  What I find amusing in these situations is that sooner or later when we come to that dead end, we're the ones crying "Help me God!"  And God does not disapoint.  It's my belief that He simply waits for His children to return to Him.  It is not Gods desire to cast us aside or forget us, but that we would be saved through Christ Jesus {John 3: 16 - 17}.  We may indeed have pitfalls along the way, but we can rest assured that God is always waiting to receive us to Himself when we come to Him.

~Scott~