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)
For years I’ve loved this verse out of Isaiah. I should put some more time into studying its background and historical context, for I fear that in the years I’ve clung to it, I may have taken it out of context. Easily done. With that proviso, here’s the freedom I see in it.
So often Christians think of “God’s will for our life” in a strict sense of one way forward. One right choice. One person to marry or one career to choose or one best friend to make. But living like that is so constricting, and eliminates our freedom and creativity. Does a good parent make all of the choices for their child? No! They delight in seeing the child find their own way (with their loving guidance, of course) and express their own passions and interests as they step forward in life.
Which brings us to this verse. When I learned it, the NIV said, if I’m remembering right, “When you turn to the right or to the left,” which I took to mean, when you make the considered and informed decision to go this way or that, the Lord will continue to direct your path. The entails us walking and moving forward and making decisions – not waiting for him to tell us what to do or which way to go. The key is to turn to the Lord for wisdom, for we see in the preceding verses that the Lord will be gracious when we cry for help: “As soon as he hears, he will answer you” (v. 19) And although we face hard times, we will gain understanding and wisdom (v. 20).
I hope I’m not slaughtering the interpretation and application of this passage from Scripture – do chime in with your wisdom and let me know what you think.
Over to you – how you sense God’s freedom in how you live your life, whether you turn to the left or to the right?
This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. You can find today’s prompt here.
