The other day I was hiking some trails through a nearby park in Michigan. It was a beautiful day – warm and sunny. I crossed over a stream and was heading up a hill. Despite the fact that I was wearing shorts, I decided to go off trail and do some bushwhacking to reach the ridge I was aiming for. There was some brush but I avoided most of the prickers. I climbed to the top of the ridge and onto a fallen tree. I walked along it for a bit and surveyed the stream from up high, taking in all the changing colors. I walked to the end of the tree near the root base, and decided to hop down and meet back up with the trail. I had my Nikon around my neck and a backpack strapped on. As my feel hit the ground, they slid down the damp earth and, suddenly, I felt myself pitching forward down the hill. Not good. As I fell, my right side hit a sapling tree which did slow my rapid descent, and I was able to reach back and grab it but still ended up face down in the brambles. I got up and got back up to the top and limped back to the trail to assess the damage. Lots of scratches and a variety of stickers and thorns stuck in my legs and the sun shield of my camera was missing about a third. Other than that, I was fine.
Last night during the set at the Prayer Room, the team started singing Psalm 119:1-6. I read it out of The Message and started chuckling because it was like the perfect response / illustration of what can happen when you go off trail. It was almost like God was pointing it out to me specifically to iustrate a point. The Psalmist says, “You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right—you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; then I’d never have any regrets …”
That last line cracks me up. Then I would not have any regrets. Going off trail can sometimes lead you to amazing undiscovered places, breathtaking vistas, or quiet ponds. But it can also get you turned around and lost in a thicket. Our lives are frequently compared to a road or path because we are ultimately on a destination or journey. In Christianity, it is often called the narrow way. Truth is, I don’t want to have regrets because I decided to bushwhack my own trail and left the path that would lead me to exactly where I was created to end up. Solomon said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and don’t rely on your own understanding… seek His will in all you do and He will show you the path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6).