Zealously Keep His Way

Being in the right place at the right time is important. While waiting for the Lord in absolute trust and patience is a great discipline, keeping his way while waiting is paramount. The right place is waiting patiently for the Lord. The right time is keeping his way constantly.

“Wait for the Lord and keep his way…” Psalms 37:34

I read a book, Waiting on God, by Andrew Murray during my journey of mourning. I would read about grief, read or listen to my Bible, and read a devotional book. Murray was one of my go-to authors for devotional reading. I learned that waiting is more difficult than most of us readily recognize. But I know it experientially, also. I mean it’s obvious in the warp and woof of life that waiting is complicated. Waiting in a busy, driven world is not effortless. It goes against the grain.

Further, the psalmist says we are to keep God’s way. Waiting must be accompanied by keeping God’s way. We are cautioned and warned against trusting our own ideas of the way. We are, after all, egocentric. We see our perspective. We see our way. And it seems right.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Proverbs 14:12

Pretty serious. That should cause every person, believer or not, to second-guess their own intuitions about the ways that seem right. These ways make sense to us. They feel right. Solomon cautions us to test our way against God’s way. Our seemingly right way ends in death.

This is a mystery. Paul admonishes, “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware…” (Romans 11:25). It is wisdom to recognize the danger in trusting yourself. There’s mystery to this world, and it is wise to embrace truth in Scripture and not knowledge of the day. Humility would prepare us to see that God’s ways are different, and we must adhere to his way and reject our way.

How does one walk in God’s ways? Quite simply, believe what God says.

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.” Psalms 119:9

“So faith comes from hearing,” we are told, “and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). God’s Word is the priceless treasure source to enable us to determine our way. Before we can keep his way, we must know his way. Before we know his way, we must discern the source and plumb its depths. He speaks through his Word. That’s where waiting comes in. We wait for him and keep his Word. The context for us is a busy, confusing world. It takes patience and trust. Waiting. Then it takes faith to keep his Word because there are so many voices vying for our attention. I have discovered it takes discipline to fix my eyes on the truth and to reject simple and attractive answers. It takes zeal for him and his ways.

Wait on him. Keep his way.

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. …Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! …The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way…” Psalms 37:5, 7, 23