He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
MICAH 6:8
Every trail must be maintained if it is going to be used. Trees and limbs can fall across the path during storms. Water erodes the walkway. Rocks work their way to the surface. All of these things get in the way and make the trail less safe. They could even cause injury if we are not careful.
How true this is in our lives. Events both large and small can interrupt our daily walk. The way we want to go may be blocked by a lack of resources or ability. A wrong choice may have diverted us from the straight and narrow path we started on when we came to know the Lord.
For this reason, the Lord reminded us to stop, rest, and turn our eyes upon Him. We can do this in many ways. It can be as quick as a few minutes of rest and meditation during a coffee break or as routine as the sleep we get each night. Gathering with other believers on Sunday—or any other day—may become a weekly time to slow down and refocus. Communion can be a time of particular refreshment. So can a vacation. These times of rest and spiritual cleansing do us a world of good.
We can clear our thoughts, our hearts, and our souls of anything that interferes with our worship. We might use this time to look back and reflect. Perhaps we need to change direction. When we use our time in prayer to confess, we are grateful for the many promises of God’s forgiveness, such as 1 John 1:9. The Lord’s willingness to keep cleansing us again and again demonstrates that He knows us and loves us. He wants us to continue walking with Him.