A WAY THAT LEADS AWAY

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
--Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV)
Probably one of the most difficult things to do in the Christian walk is to seek,
find, and follow Gods will for our lives. True, many of us recognize a specific call to
serve in various capacities, and we pursue these goals, but sometimes there are no simple
right and wrong choices in the daily working out of Christian living. And the hardest of
these decisions to make is the one that seems to be wrong, but instead has two rights.
How do we choose in such a situation? How can we tell the difference between Gods
choice for us and Satans deceptive sidetrack, especially when it seems we cant find
Gods answer through prayer? I believe that God has given us ways to recognize His
paths when we cannot see them clearly, and the alternatives bear certain earmarks by
which we can, through careful observation, recognize and distinguish between right and
wrong paths.
First, the wrong path will be marked by false assumption, while the right way will
be marked by full assurance. False assumptions can come in different forms, and are
usually so subtle as to be difficult to detect. The most common assumption made in our
time is that the way should be easy. We live in an age and country where leisure time has
been expanded to the point that we expect and even demand that things be made as easy
for us as possible. I am not revealing anything new when I say this idea has spread
rapidly throughout the Christian community, because many current preachers have
expounded upon the concept of living in the comfort zone. But we run into trouble
when we try to expand the thought to include the way we receive Gods guidance.
Lets take a look for just a moment at an example in Scripture. On Pauls second
missionary journey, he had just finished traveling through the areas he had already
reached on his earlier journey, and began spreading the Gospel throughout the regions of
Phrygia and Galatia. As he approached the outer reaches of these areas, a small arm of
the Aegean Sea lay straight ahead of him, directly in his path. To the left lay a small
region of Asia Minor, bounded by the Mediterranean, but to the right lay Bithynia,
containing vast territories of unimpeded travel. The most sensible thing to have done was
to turn right and cover as much ground as he could, but the Scripture says that the Spirit
would not allow him to go there (Acts 16:6-10). So Gods choice in Pauls situation lay
not in the quick, easy way out, but in another directionand the same is often, though
not always, true in many of our decisions. We need to be careful not to make
assumptions based on what we think is right or easy or the logical thing to do, but on
what the leading of Gods Spirit would prompt us to do.
Another assumption we are prone to make is the assumption that our decisions,
once we make them, are usually right. Again, we can look to Pauls missionary travels to
find the evidence of this kind of assumption at work. Paul was so upset with John Mark
for having deserted the team during their first journey, that he was insistent that he not
accompany them the second time, so insistent that Barnabas also parted company with
Paul. Later evidence from Pauls writings gives the indication that paul recognized his
error in judgment about Mark, calling him helpful to me in my ministry (2 Timothy

4:11). The same is true of uswe are not always right in our judgment of situations. A
story is told of two men who worked in the audit department of a large bank. They made
an overnight trip to a distant branch of the bank, and were dining in a local restaurant.
The chief auditor told the other man, First well hit the tellers, and then get the vault.
They arrived at the bank the next morning, only to be promptly arrested by the state
police. Upon inquiry, they discovered that a police captain had eaten at the same
restaurant and had overheard the conversation about hitting the tellers and getting the
vault. The police captain had made a very good assumption about the situation, based
on the information as he had overheard it, but his assumption was also very wrong. So
how can we avoid making false assumptions when we seek the mind of the Lord?
If we cant seem to find the answer in prayer, we should commit the decision to
the Lord, and if the decision cant wait, trust in God to guide us by His Spirit in using our
own common sense judgment. Then, to let us know if we are on the right track, God will
give us all the assurance that we need. Take a look for just a minute at the life of Gideon,
and this idea of assurance becomes quite clear. Of all the people who ever had a problem
with insecurity, Gideon had to be the ringleader. The angel of the Lord appeared to him
to tell him that he would lead the people of Israel against the Midianite oppressors, but
Gideon questioned whether it was possible: My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I
am the least in my family (Judges 6;15). The Lord answered, I will be with you, to
give him assurance, but Gideon still was not satisfied, asking the angel to wait while he
prepared a sacrifice. After he had prepared the sacrifice, it was consumed from the place
he had set it, and the angel disappeared. Gideon realized he had seen the angel of the
Lord, and, since he had made the false assumption that he would die as a result, the Lord
had to give extra assurance this time, that he would not die. Later, still ill at ease, he had
to test God once more: If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promisedlook,
I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all
the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said
(Judges 6:36-37). And God was perfectly willing to give him the assurance he so
desperately needed. But later, Gideon STILL needed assurance, and God STILL honored
his need by performing the fleece trick once again, this time in the opposite way, by
making the ground wet and the fleece dry. The point is that God is still the same when
WE are troubled about our paths, and is perfectly willing to give ALL the assurance we
need, if we will only ask.
But this idea of assurance is based on the idea that we have not followed false
assumptions. What happens in cases in which we dont recognize our own errors, cases
in which our assumptions lead us in the wrong direction? After all, the book of Proverbs
also tells that ALL a mans ways seem right to him (Proverbs 21:2). If that is the case,
can we really KNOW the difference?
Yes, we CAN know, since the second half of the aforementioned verse continues,
but the LORD weighs the heart. And as the Lord weighs our hearts, and sees that we
are not making it our intention to take a wrong direction, He helps us to see the true path
in another way, by marking the wrong path with premonitions, and the right path with
promises. The history of Israel as a nation is full of repeated warnings to let them know
they were straying into dangerous errors. Prophet after prophet came to the people with
the same message: This is what the Lord says, giving warnings of coming judgment if
the people persisted in their errors. The warnings were there for their benefit and

guidance, intended to show them the way. In the midst of the proclamations of judgment
that God made throughout the book of Isaiah, the words come through clearly, Whether
you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, This is
the way; walk in it (Isaiah 30:21). The picture is one of a loving God seeking to keep
His people from straying into error. The wrong path, when taken, will ALWAYS be
marked by warnings, maybe not as outright as warnings were made by the prophets, but
God WILL let His people know if they have chosen a path that leads to a sidetrack from
His will for their lives.
But God also marks the path were supposed to take, to let us know for certain
when we have made the right decision. The most definite way God does this is through
the strength of His promise, which God accomplishes by keying specific promises to a
direct relation to our need. I dont like returning to the same person as an example so
often, but again we find the truth of this principle at work in the life of Paul. While Paul
was at Corinth, he obviously had some strong concerns, because the Lord spoke in a
vision, I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many
people in this city (Acts 18:10). Later, in prison at Jerusalem, the Lord gave another
promise, As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome:
(Acts 23:11). In each case, the specific need was addressed and a promise given, and as
we know, The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness
(2 Peter 3:9). The only problem any of us may have with this example of Paul is that his
situation is so far removed from us, both in time and in location. What about our age, and
what about our situations and our specific needs?
God still gives us promises, and these promises are still geared to meet every
specific individual need. In 1924, Dr. Leila McConnell, having just received a degree
from Asbury College, felt Gods call to start a work for God in Eastern Kentucky.
Fearing the reputation of Bloody Breathitt County, and having no means of support,
she sought long and hard, praying for answers. Finally, her promise came, sure and true
from Gods Word, The mountain shall be yours (Joshua 17:18). With that promise, she
founded Mt. Carmel High School, followed six years later by the founding of Kentucky
Mountain Bible College. God provided all she needed for her work, and has continued to
bless the work there after sixty years have passed. This is not an isolated case of one
special individual receiving a promise from God simply because He wants to do a special
work. Gods promises are there for EACH individual without partiality, to fit every need
we have, great or small. And that especially applies to situations in which we are
confused or have doubts. God WANTS to help us, and so often does so by lifting out one
of the thousands of promises in the Word, then, by the Spirits inner assurance, stamping
the promise with a person touch for the individual situation and need.
But again, the assumption is made that we have listened to the warnings and have
sought the proper paths with all the diligence we can manage. What happens, though, if
we should fail to recognize, fail to hear, or fail to heed Gods warnings to stay away from
an incorrect path? What if we have become, like the Psalmist says, like the horse or the
mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle (Psalm
32:9)?
Again, God WILL put marks on the paths to help us see our way, marking the
wrong path by our stubbornness and the right one by substantiation. As for our
stubbornness, God is not dealing with a new problem at all in such situations, but an age-

old problem He has had from the beginning with His people. Now, the problem with
stubbornness many times is that the stubborn person simply does not realize his or her
own stubbornness. And the bad thing about being stubborn when wrong is that it
becomes extremely difficult to be corrected by anyone, even when God is the one doing
the correcting, or perhaps I should say ESPECIALLY when God is the one doing the
correcting. But there is one small detail I have noticed about those who make wrong
spiritual decisions and then stubbornly persist in them, and that is the tendency to
rationalize. If we have made a decision that turns out to be wrong, and God faithfully
points this out to us, halfway measures are out! Ill take care of it later is a line that no
longer belongs in our vocabulary. Its so easy to rationalize to ourselves, to tell ourselves,
even against our own consciences, that something less than the straight path is all right.
A manager of a baseball team became enraged at his left fielder for bobbling
catches and making errors on easy throws. Finally, the manager becamse so furious that
he benched the left fielder and took the left field position himself. In rapid succession, he
missed an easy fly ball, overthrew the ball at third, allowing the winning run to get on
base, then collided with the center fielder on a fly ball to allow the other team to win the
game. He stormed back to the dugout an barked at the left fielder, See? Youve got left
field so fouled up, NOBODY can play it! The reaction of that manager is typical of our
own hard-headedness in justifying our own errors, a rationalization that can be our
downfall when it comes to being willing to change course to get back in line with Gods
plan of action.
Just in case you havent noticed already, I want to point out the downward trend
of the discussion so far. First, we talked about false assumptions and how they may lead
into error, then about Gods warnings to us in situations in which we have already fallen
into error, then the stubborn plodding through our errors, refusing to be corrected. The
point is this: the second part of the text or this message tells us concerning this wrong
way that, in the end it leads to death. Now I do not intend to tell anyone that every
time we make a simple choice between any two things, we face a possibility of incurring
Gods wrath and facing eternal punishment. But I WILL point out that the progression
described so far has led to a stubborn resistance to what God wants for us. And what is
rebellion against what God wants if it is not sin? Let me compare this downward
progression to the progression that James describes for temptation: temptation leads to
evil desire, desire leads to sin, and sin, fully-grown, leads to death (James 1:14-15).
Believe me, if Satan cant succeed by one method, he will definitely try another, and one
of these methods is to sidetrack the people of God into errors that tend toward a
downward progression if not corrected. James does offer a solution, though, that can be
applied to this discussion: Come near to God and He will come near to you (James
4:8).
And when we do come near to God, when we seek HIS way, He WILL give us all
the substantiation we need to recognize the right path when we are on it. He did it for
Paul in Troas, when the Spirit stopped him from going to Bithynia, by giving him the
vision to call him to Macedonia. And God willingly does the same for us when we seek
His will without reserve: You will seek me and find me when you seek me with ALL
YOUR HEART (Jeremiah 29:11). Is the same not true about seeking Gods will in all
our troublesome decisions? Does God not willingly give us those answers? Will God not
willingly confirm our steps when they are right?

Recently I had to make a major decision of my own, with tremendous impact on

my future: the change from a teaching to a preaching ministry. The biggest factor that
kept me hesitating about the decision was, Is this what I feel God wants, or is this what I
want? I asked that because I really WANTED to make the change. Then one day a
teacher walked into our classroom at the beginning of class, and for no apparent reason
began voicing her opinion that so many people miss Gods plan for them simply because
they think its supposed to be something they dont want to do. I think God also works
by giving us talents in a particular direction, and then giving us the desire to pursue the
direction those talents lead us. The words were like milk and honey to me, giving me a
measure of assurance that led me to make the change, but still with a small corner of
reluctance in my mind. But oh, the confirmation that has come since then! Almost all
my close friends, and several marginal acquaintances as well, have echoes the same
sentiments, almost in the exact words: I sure am glad you changed direction, I thought
that was the direction you should have been going in the first place. Now THAT is the
kind of assurance and confirmation God wants to give us when we truly seek His will and
step out in faith when we believe we have the mind of the Lord in our decisions.
What suggestions do I give, other than to pay close attention to the marks already
described? Basically, we need to consider one question in regard to any decision:
Where will this lead? If we can foresee difficulties and problems, sometimes that takes
half the strain of the decision away by clarifying the question before we begin. But most
of all, saturate the situation with prayer and be open and willing to hear the mind of the
Spirit of God. Also, remember that in many decisions, there are no absolutes. The
message given here is not designed to be a strict pattern, but a flexible guideline to help
you be aware of the Spirits voice as He seeks to guide you into His paths. Not all tough
decisions allow us a waiting period, and many times the Lord will call on us to take a
step of faith. But whenever it IS possible, always remember Davids words to wait for
the Lord (Psalm 27:14). God is ALWAYS faithful to be an ever-present help in
trouble (Psalm 46:1). Be strong, and wait for the Lord.