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Psalms 25:15

Have you ever tried to make a perfectly straight line of footprints in the snow? It’s not as easy as you might think! Most people would tread slow and steady, heads down, focusing intensely on their feet. Whenever someone faces this challenge with their eyes turned downward, you can be sure that they’ll fail. Those footprints will be as crooked as can be.

When you’re walking with your eyes on your feet, you have no idea where you’re going. The experience is entirely self-centered. There’s no perspective, because you can’t see how you fit into the larger landscape. Genuine focus is missing, since every step treads over the last step’s focal point. You haven’t envisioned yourself as part of a bigger picture. So you simply plod through the snow aimlessly.

The only way to make a straight line of footprints in the snow is to ignore your feet. Instead, look directly ahead and find a fence post, street sign, or tree in the distance. Then, with your eyes fixed on that target, start to walk towards it. If you’ve locked your focus on something other than yourself, the path will be straight every time.

The same is true in our spiritual lives. If we walk through life concentrating inwardly, we’ll fail to see the bigger picture and likely go off course. But when we focus beyond ourselves, fixing our thoughts and spiritual eyes on Jesus Christ, we can trust our path will be straight and trustworthy every step of the way (Isa. 26:3 NLT).

Bible in One Year: Exodus 25-27

Dr. Charles Stanley