Psalm 23:3b
"...He leadeth
me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."
In just the verse
previous it says, "He leadeth me beside the still waters." Well, again, God is leading us...but in this
case He leads us in the paths of righteousness.
What does that mean? Well, first
of all, I believe I've heard it said on more than one occasion, "A good
definition for 'righteousness' is Right with
God-ness." In other words,
righteousness is a right standing before God.
We cannot have a right standing before God without having confessed to God that
we are a sinner, and in need of Christ's
finished work on the cross. That
is really a whole new subject...but it is, in fact, where it all begins. If you do not know Christ as your personal
Saviour, please reference "salvation" in my postings. There are many, many references that will be
a help to you. This posting is primarily
for Christians, and the reminder that God will lead us in the paths of
righteousness...we just need to be willing to follow!
Let me remind you,
dear Christian, God has given us His Holy Spirit to be a help to us. He is there for us...for so many
reasons. Perhaps that will be my next
study to share with you! But just to
give a little tidbit or two, let me remind you of John 14:16 which says,
"And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that
He may abide with you for ever."
The Holy Spirit is our Comforter...what a comfort that is! And verse 17 says, "He dwelleth with
you, and shall be in you." ...yet, still another comforting
thought! He dwells with us and in
us...and He is the One guiding us in the paths of righteousness. He is that convicting voice within us,
endeavoring to guide us in the way we should go. God still leaves it up to us, what is our
will and way; but oh, how He desires for us follow Him and be at a right standing before Him.
A right standing before Him...that brings up
another subject. The Holy Spirit will also convict us
of any sin in our hearts and lives. We
won't be at a right standing before God if there's any sin in our hearts and
lives. We must
keep the way clean and clear between us.
Another thing that will help us in that regard, is being in the
Word. God's Word is power to us...and
yes, it'll convict us as well, of any sin; but it will guide us into all
truth. It is strength and power to us.
Let me close with
this: This particular verse closes with
the words, "for His name's sake."
"He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."
In other words, if we will follow His leading and keep at a right
standing before Him, that is what will bring the greatest glory to
Himself. Let me remind you, dear
Christian, the reason we were saved, and the reason we are still here on this
earth is that we might bring glory to God. That is our prime purpose in life! For His name's sake...we aren't to live this life for ourselves, but for His name's sake. Oh, that it might be so in each of our lives!
May we always follow
God's leading...and thereby, bring glory to Him!
Merle
