He leads me in paths of righteousness . . . Psalm 23:4a

The beauty of walking slowly through a passage is being able to look at every little thing as if it were a new gift to unwrap.  As someone well-seasoned in Bible study, I can just assume that I understand a phrase like ‘paths of righteousness.’  I don’t, and I’m still learning!  

I have often asked, and perhaps you also voice these questions ~ Why does God make it so hard?  Since He promises to lead, and since He tells me that I am a sheep who cannot find my way on my own, why does He not speak louder so that the right path is unmistakable?

God is all about growing me up into the stature and maturity of His Son.  If I can take God by the hand and not have to think for myself at all, isn’t this the stuff of toddlerhood?  Infant faith begins with these kinds of baby steps, whereas mature faith encompasses the ability to engage my intellectual faculties to the glory of God.

I must learn to train my mind, to know how to build precept upon precept.  Sound decisions are made by a student of the Word who has set out to learn the mind of God, through the Spirit and through Scripture, with abject humility. 

Paths of righteousness are ever before me.  God makes them clear for every level of spiritual development.  Milk for the babes; meat for the mature.  And, in that light, I can know that God will grant me the humility to listen.  He encourages every intellectual pursuit that is harnessed to the truth of the Scriptures.

I can be lazy and want to be led like a baby.  Forgive me.  Amen