The Ancient Path
In the past
couple of decades, we have had rapid progress in technology. This progress has
led to a fast-paced lifestyle. Everything we do now moves fast-paced, and
sometimes we want to take a break from it all. In other words, take a rest
because we feel we are nearing our limit for a breakdown or burnout. We get
breaks from time to time to rest our bodies. However, this is not enough as we
cannot rest our minds due to things we still have to attend. The reality is
that if we do not relax our mind (soul), there can never be rest for the body.
The verse
for today tells us how to get rest for our soul, which will also lead to rest
for the body. To get rest for the soul, the Lord speaking through Prophet
Jeremiah says we have to stand (pause though that might be inconvenient in the
world we now live in, it is of great importance if we are ever to find rest for
our soul), look and ask for the ancient path where the good road is. When we
have found this path, we ought to walk in it. Jesus, while He was on Earth,
walked that ancient path. Now He invites us to follow Him in that walk. It is
important to note that only by looking unto Jesus can we successfully walk this
ancient path (Heb. 12:2). We can find descriptions of what it is in the Bible.
Bless God for the Holy Spirit that provides more understanding on this.
The ancient
path is a path of brokenness and contriteness of the heart. Take an example
from the life of King David, a man after God’s heart. Was this because King
David never did wrong? Not! It was because whenever he transgressed the law of
the Lord, and he comes to the knowledge of it, he always goes back to God with
a broken and contrite heart. A broken and contrite heart, king David says, is
the sacrifices of God and such He will not despise (Psalms 51:17).
The ancient
path is a path of yielding oneself as a living sacrifice to the Lord and
possessing nothing of your own (Romans 12:1-2). This path might seem rough, but
here is only where we can find rest for our souls and rest for the body in the
process. Jesus who walked the ancient path (He gave up his life on the cross
for the sins of the whole world) said this in Luke 9:23: “Then He said to them
all if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross daily and follow me.”
Finding the
ancient path and walking in it is impossible in human strength. If it is, the
children of Israel would have followed it and found rest for their souls. It is
only possible through the help of the Holy Spirit, which Christ has freely
given unto us after His ascension to Heaven.
Let us,
therefore, ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to see the ancient path and
walk in it. Here is a prayer from a hymn:
Come as the light: to reveal
Our emptiness and woe;
And lead us in those paths of life
Where all the righteous go.
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