Paths of Righteousness

I think about the nature of Jesus a lot. I like to think about the
things that He's done, too, but thoughts of those things always point
back to thoughts of who He is. I'll be honest in saying that when I
think of who God is my mind is boggled. I've lived long enough to be
let down and rejected and abandoned and humiliated. Thinking back on
some experiences, I can truthfully say that I've seen the nature of
man and it ain't pretty. But the nature of Jesus is Love. It is
incorruptible. It is pure. To me that is mind-boggling and I will not
apologize for being in awe of this magnificent God.

I read one of David's psalms again today. Psalm 23 speaks volumes
about our God's nature. It speaks of how He takes care of and
protects us. With each verse, I become more and more grateful. More
and more amazed.

The verse that stood out to me this time was verse 3. This verse says
that our Lord restores my soul. It says that He leads me in paths of
righteousness for His Name's sake. I don't think that I am able to
describe how much this means to me. I think about God's nature:
strong, kind, compassionate, faithful, unchanging. I think about human
nature: desperately wicked, frail, fickle and weak. If God were to
lead me in paths of righteousness for my own name's sake I would be
worried. It would be easy for me to believe that I could get lost,
somehow, in the thickness of life. But it's not based on my name.
Righteous living and righteousness itself are not based on my nature. They are based on the nature of One who is steadfast and unchanging. He is
steady and faithful. He is trustworthy and good. He is really really
good.

I think this verse means so much to me because it means that God will
never let us go. He won't let us slip away. It will never be His
choice if we walk away from His providence. As long as we remain as
sheep, following with complete trust a mighty Shepherd, He will always
show us the right way to go. He'll never change His mind and choose to
lead us astray. He will not choose not to lead us. It is not in His
nature to abandon us. These paths of righteousness, paths of peace,
paths of love, paths of grace are ours to walk along.

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