Watching My Steps

If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. (Psalm 37:23-24)

I've been wearing a pedometer for the past week. My company sponsors a "Healthy Habits" program for our employees, designed to encourage us to eat better and exercise more (healthy employees make happy employees). We kicked off a 6-week "Step To It" campaign this month to give us measurable goals for walking and other activities designed to improve our overall physical fitness. Each participant was given a pedometer (in the shape of a heart, no less) and six weekly logs for tracking our progress. So all week long, I've been accompanied by the gentle "click click click" of my pedometer as I tool about.

As I was going for my morning walk today, I was listening to the pedometer clicking off each step I took, and I was thinking about what the Bible says about our steps. I knew there was a verse in there about God ordering the steps of a righteous man (it must be in there because we sing about it in church), but I wondered what else the Bible has to say about our steps. I also wondered if that often-quoted passage was in context, or just another fanciful saying that people like to throw around because it sounds good.

So I turned to my new best friend, BibleGateway.com, and found some interesting passages (including the correct context of said verse above). In the King James version, Psalm 37:23 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way." In the NIV (quoted at the top of the page), the phrasing is different, and there is a condition and a promise attached to this verse. If God delights in my ways, He will make my steps firm (or "order" my steps), and if my steps are firm, God will keep me from falling even when I stumble. To just say that my steps are ordered by God seems to imply that God tells me where to go and I have no choice in the matter - basically I'm just one of His puppets. However, if I delight God by living and doing right, then He will firm up my steps and preserve me, wherever I walk (obviously only walking in those places where I belong).

Then I found Proverbs 4:11-12: "I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble." This tells me that, if I follow God's ways, I can be assured that my spiritual walk will be blessed. The opposite, then, is also true: if my steps are being hampered and I'm stumbling when I run, then I must not be following God's leading along the straight paths that He has laid before me. This gives me cause for introspection and self-examination. I'll be the first to admit, when you've been walking with the Lord for several decades, sometimes the scenery gets a little boring and the path seems uninteresting. We often want to take a detour for a fresh adventure or a new perspective. However, just like in hiking, if you get off the trail, you're asking for trouble. God is not obligated to preserve and protect me when I stray from His guidance.

Finally, I found this: "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." (Proverbs 14:15) Today I was having a discussion with a friend about renegade preachers who have no accountability. Often their followers soak up every spoken word without giving any thought to verifying it against Scripture. I mentioned to my friend that, as a pastor, I always told my congregation to never take my word for anything - always check it out in the Bible for themselves. What if I was having an off day and decided that we should start something goofy in the church? I would hope that I had trained my flock well enough that they would immediately recognize the dissonance of false teaching when they heard it. I not only need to be careful as a teacher and preacher, but also in my personal walk as well. I must give careful thought to my steps - how I spend my time and energy, the decisions I make, the people I associate with, even my thought life.

We all need to watch our steps. God is not some cosmic puppeteer pulling our strings and forcing us to go wherever He wants us to go. He has laid out a road map for us, but it is our choice to make whether we follow it. If we do, His word promises us that we can rest assured in His ability to preserve and protect us as we travel along.

Have a blessed week!

Pastor David