Off the Path – Devotion 78

The most astonishing finds are awaiting off the beaten path.  Some things cannot be found where everyone else travels.  They aren’t noticed in the transport of the everyday life.  They are passed by, hidden, and seemingly unimportant.  But when we get off the regular path and seek to discover what all is out there, we find unexpected joy.  We find messages from God in his handiwork.  We find reminders that God is with us and working all around us.  When we are willing to step off the path we have always known, we are surprised to find God is leading us through a life of discovery.

As someone that finds himself off the path regularly, it can be scary.  I mostly lose my way because I am directionally challenged.  But sometimes, it is in a way of seeing what else is out there.  When I pay attention to the beauty and the rare gems of God’s love, I end up in unexpected places.  And I find myself in good company.  It isn’t as scary as I thought it might be when I stop and take in the beauty.  When I am willing to give up my agenda, God leads me to people that I would have never met.  I encounter God’s grace in ways I would have never experienced.

I am reminded that Jesus walked off the beaten path nearly every single time.  He didn’t do any of the things everyone told him he should do.  He simply listened to God.  And he was found at tables with sinners.  He was found in villages of outcasts.  He was discovered at wells with women of the “other” kind.  He talked to the questionable.  He didn’t care for the path everyone else was on because it wasn’t the path of love or grace.  It was the path of rules.

There is something to be said for getting off the beaten path to simply discover where God is.  It is an adventure that brings unexpected rewards.  You can get lost in his love.  You can swim in his joy.  You can climb in his fortress.  And you might find you aren’t lost at all – you are exactly where he intended all along.

Focus Scripture:

Matthew 7:7-8

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery