Staying On The Path

This morning I was reading from Nehemiah 9 & 10.  Nehemiah was a leader of the Israelites who helped lead the nation back to Jerusalem, from their place of captivity in Babylon.  Chapter 9 contains a great prayer of confession of sin, which is really common to all of us, and recognition of God's incredible mercy and restraint in dealing with a people who constantly disobeyed. I especially think verses 33-35 are so telling:


Neh 9:33-35


"In all that has happened to us, you have been just; you have acted faithfully, while we did wrong. 34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests and our fathers did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the warnings you gave them. 35 Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you or turn from their evil ways."


Lord that is so true, everything we have that is good is from You. Yet so many of us, myself included, live as if You had nothing to do with it, and we blindly follow our own thoughts and ways. You are so good to us, and in the midst of our sin, You have acted faithfully. We thank You Lord for not treating us as our actions would require.


Nehemiah 10 is a solemn commitment that the people make to God to re-establish His laws, and to walk in them fully. The chapter finishes with the statement " “We will not neglect the house of our God.” In Nehemiah 13, he returns to Israel after a few years and finds that already people have stopped following the precepts and laws they had committed to following in Neh 10, and had already started neglecting the house of God.  I find it so amazing, yet recognize the same tendency in my life, that they so quickly fell away from commitments they made to God and to each other, and instead wandered away from the path they had committed to stay on. 


Lord, You know our weak human condition, and seeming inability to stay on course or stay focused for any period of time. I am so grateful that You have sent us the Holy Spirit as a counselor to live with us. We thank You, Holy Spirit that you provide power, encouragement, counsel, and direction. Lord help us to keep our hearts and our minds inclined towards You at all times.  Help us to stay true to our commitments to You and each other!