My husband and I love to hike. Not long ago, we set out to climb to the top of Castle Crag. Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? Well, we’re too cheap to get the hiking app on our phones. And we love to hike away from all the other hikers by taking alternate paths. Suddenly, the path was barely visible, and even more suddenly, I realized that if either of us took one wrong step by mere inches, we would certainly die. We crept down a bit humiliated, never having quite reached the summit. But we were in one piece.

The next morning, during my quiet time in God’s Word, I read this, “All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people. But they follow their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes” (Isaiah 65:2). Immediately I sensed a profound new appreciation for the danger of thinking I knew better paths than the ways the Bible has clearly presented. In Scripture, that is called being a fool.

“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death” (Proverbs 14:12).

It is impossible for a person to discover all that must be known about life without authoritative sources from outside oneself. 

“I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23 ESV). 

Every pilot knows that while flying high and fast, they cannot tell up from down without a horizon tool. Similarly, human beings do not have an internal frame of reference. Someone from outside us must guide us about what’s right and wrong. If everything we know has only a subjective source, we cannot tell the difference between God’s reality and our “reality”—God’s Way and our way. 

Because the Scriptures are God-breathed, they alone hold authority over what we believe and how we live (2 Timothy 3:16). God is the Source of all authority. God is the Author (origin) Who spoke into being all that exists (Psalm 33:6-9; Acts 3:15). The Bible is His Word, and He authored it. Therefore, it is the “Author-ity” for our lives. 

Jesus is God and a human person. “He knew what human nature was” (John 2:25 CEB). Therefore, He is the supreme Authority on the human heart and is the only One worth listening to. In the chaos of life, Jesus assures us, “I am the Way” (John 14:6 NIV).

Our response to the paths of Jesus is one of loving devotion and submission. We learn and then reflect the character of God’s reality by living it out in obedience. God is offering, “I don’t just want you to do my will; I want you to be Who I AM” (cf. 1 John 4:16-17). The English connotation of the word “obey” might feel like demand and coercion. But it actually means “to listen to the voice of.” There’s an intimate relationship implied there.

Try this: as you’re reading the Bible (for example, Ephesians 4:20-32), listen for anything to obey. Write it down. No matter how difficult or unfair it seems, obey. Journal about where walking this path with Jesus takes your life. (Spoiler alert: you’re about to experience unearthly freedom and peace!)

The Holy Spirit breathed the Bible’s content from His own essence into human language. The Holy Spirit also breathes His Life into us. As we walk in obedience with Him, He inhabits our lives. He loves us. He’s offering Himself to us so we can live with joy (John 15:10-11).

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11 ESV).  

Questions to ponder

• Have you experienced the difference following God’s path makes in a person’s life?
• Read Ephesians 4:30-32. What do you hear in the passage that you need to obey?

This article was originally titled “Finding True Paths” in the January 2025 issue of The War Cry.