Walk In His Ways
“The God who encircles me with strength and makes my way blameless? He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, He sets me upon my high places.” Psalm 18:32-33
From Bible Study Tools, a hind is a deer or a mountain goat. King David uses a simile to talk about his own feet like that of a sure-footed animal that can navigate steep, rocky cliffs without stumbling or falling. He credits God with giving him strength and securing his path. Got Questions interprets “upon my high places” to mean the place “above our circumstances” in that remain secure in the Lord when we step out into the areas that He has called us to go.
For those of us actively pursuing the will of God for our lives, we follow His directions no matter what kind of terrain is set before us. Sometimes it feels as if we are on a smooth, concrete path with few obstacles. Sometimes it is more like traveling a twisting, rocky road. When we find ourselves in a place of difficulty, we can say a prayer inspired by King David and the Prophet Habakkuk, “Lord, please give me the feet to walk the path you have chosen for me.”
In Psalm 18, King David writes from a place of great victory. That was the day that the Lord delivered him from his enemies, including King Saul. David gives a great testimony of a time of trouble when he cried out to the Lord and the Lord heard his prayers. Then David praises God for the strength, security and the swiftness in one of his greatest battles!
In Habakkuk 1, the prophet complains to God that his prayers for relief from hardship and injustice are going unanswered. In Habakkuk 2, God promises to judge the wicked, and the prophet responds to God in Habakkuk 3. He first asks God to bring mercy, and then he makes a choice to look past his current circumstances which haven’t changed from chapter 1 and is determined to rejoice in the Lord. Habakkuk 3:18 says, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will have joy in the God of my salvation.”
Even when everything in the natural appears to be going wrong, he says in verse 19 that God will make his footsteps sure and be in the “high places” of his circumstances!
The deer that roam the rocky cliffs have no problem navigating the treacherous terrain because they are built for it. In contrast, our paths are building us. Whether our path is smooth, straight, rocky or curved, God uses our experiences to conform us to His image. He knows what we need during our journey and beyond this world. God promises that He will give us His strength in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), keep us from falling (Jude 24), and lead us to trust His ways (Proverbs 3:5-6). And through it all, His Word will be the light to our path (Psalm 119:105)
In this life when the road gets rough and we feel ill-prepared, we may not always be able to change the path, but we can always pray that God will give us the feet to walk His path. And whether we are in times of trouble or turmoil, or in seasons of sorrow and sadness, we can walk by faith knowing that our Savior is by our side.
God bless you,
Pastor Paul