"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13-14, AMP)
On a recent trip to NC, I was traveling alone. It was a beautiful day, and the praise music was playing. As I came upon a long straight stretch of road, God put the words “straight and narrow path” in my spirit. The road not only stretched quite a distance in front of me, but it was lined with trees on both sides. These were evergreen trees thick with leaves. There were no openings along the roadside – only trees. I felt the narrowness of the straight path as I searched my brain for this scripture.
Then there were sections of this highway where there were no trees next to the road. There was a pasture, a small town, and a residential area which took the place of the trees lining the previous section of road. This was the broad path that leads to destruction and eternal loss. Many people will turn off of the straight, narrow road and never return.
What does it take to remain on the straight and narrow sections of God’s path?
It takes:
prayer
reading the Bible and discerning its meanings
trust in the God who never wavers
obedience to our God who wants us to be who He created us to be
steadfastness when the trials come upon us (the flat tires, engines that quit,
batteries that are dead)
forgiveness from the God who loves us so much
the mindset of a conqueror
an ever-increasing faith
As we go down the pathway, we will always be tempted to make “brief” turns and stops which can lead to “destruction and eternal loss”. How do we control what happens after we make this “brief” turn or stop? Are we strong or disciplined enough to get back on the God path?
There will be signs in the middle of the road and on the sides of the road to either direct us or distract us. We have to be able to discern which path is God’s path for us. If we stray from God’s path, we may miss that opportunity which He has for us.
From the devotional book, “Springs in the Valley”:
“You are God’s opportunity in your day. He has waited for ages for a person just like you. If you refuse Him, then God loses His opportunity which He sought through you; and He will never have another, for there will never be another person on the earth just like you.”[1]
We must stay on the straight and narrow path so that God can use us in the way He has planned. Do we want to risk missing the chances of a lifetime offered by God?
I pray not! Stand strong; stay focused; be encouraged!
Thanks for stopping by,
Rachel
[1] Cowman, L. B., Springs in the Valley; (Michigan, Zondervan, 1939), 236.
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