Thankful for the Old Paths

Jeremiah 6:16

"Thus saith the Lord,

Stand ye in the ways, and see,

and ask for the old paths,

where is the good way, and walk therein,

and ye shall find rest for you souls..."

 

It's a day of thanksgiving and reflecting. I like to think all the way back to the Pilgrims sacrificing their very lives in a new land. No family was left unvisited by death and still, out of love for God, the set apart a time to stop and thank Him.

When I think of the old paths, I think of the roads that the ancients have trod. I think of the many examples given in Scripture and throughout all of history.

 

I picture Noah, walking the path that leads into the Ark.

Abraham, walking the path up to the altar to sacrifice his son.

Moses, climbing the path up Sinai where the Lord would visit him.

Joshua, leading Israel on a path through the Jordan river.

Ruth, on a path away from her home, following her mother-in-law Naomi.

David, marching up the path to the place where the giant Goliath waited.

Solomon, on the path going into the temple.

Esther, walking down the path leading to the king, uninvited.

Nehemiah, on the path back to the ruined Jerusalem.

Joseph and Mary, traveling on the path to Bethlehem.

Saul, falling on the path to Tarsus.

Peter, walking free on a path through opened prison doors.

 

 

Christ, on the path to Calvary.

 

Christ, on the path that leads from an empty grave.

 

These are the old paths. These are the paths that the Pilgrims followed. These are the paths that men and women, seeking to follow the Lord, have walked on. They have risen and fallen, but they stand secure. There is no safer path than the one the Lord leads you on.

 

"Just keep to the old paths,

And you'll find your way."