For years, I've been amazed by the foolishness of the Israel of old.  The account in the Old Testament of the Exodus from Egypt, the Power of God displayed through Moses' encounter with Pharoah, and the miracle at the Red Sea clearly demonstrated to them that God had a Plan for them.  They didn't wander for 40 years because God didn't know the way, they wandered because they didn't like the Path He was leading them on.  From my perspective, a young man in High School, I couldn't imagine how they could turn away so easily.

     I was kicked out of public High School three weeks into the ninth grade.  While I was never a troubled kid, I had no work ethic at all.  My mom found a private Christian school to put me in, and I thank God everyday that she did.  A month after I started in that school, I found the Lord.  I loved sports of any kind, and my favorite subject in school had always been P.E., followed closely by Music.  This new school was tremendous for me.  It had a very strong music program, was deeply saturated in God's Word, and it had Sports.  I couldn't get enough of God's Word, studying and memorizing constantly.  I started writing Sermons, music, poetry, and tracts.  I became very involved in church, always there.  Because my reading comprehension had gotten better, and I was writing so much, my grades imploved marginally, however, I still had no work ethic to push me through the things I didn't want to do.  Through the Grace of God, I traveled all over the greater Northwest, singing and preaching, and loving every minute of it.

     Then one day in August, I stepped off an airplane in Lynchburg, Virginia.  I felt called to the Ministry, so I went off to College.  I took as many classes in Bible and Music as I could, but I also had to take English and Biology.  Well, it didn't take very long for the sand to start shifting under me.  Oh, I had great grades in Bible and Music, but the others?  Both ended up as Incompletes.  I got very discouraged, then very mad.  I argued with my councellor about why I needed Biology to preach the Word of God.  Finally, I left.  At that particular time, I couldn't see any way for me to reach my goal of Ministry.  That path I had been so clearly following, just seemed to stop.  So, I made my own path.

     I find myself at a point much closer to the end of the Path, then the beginning.  My perspective is, once again, so much different than it was.  That path I started on with such zeal and promise, was indeed narrow, and very straight.  It never ended way back then, infact, I crossed it many, many times through the years of my life.  I prayed a lot back then, but because I couldn't see any way to reach the goal, I turned off the path.  Much like the Israelites of old, I didn't want to do all the little things He needed me to do, and learn, back then.  What I see looking back is a whole lot of left turns.  There's not a lot of forward progress when you just turn left all the time.  Inspite of myself, God used me many times through the years, and I have learned some important lessons along the way.

     Here's one lesson I learned from this particular time in my life:  When I thought the Path was gone, or God was no longer leading me, I realized that I was no longer looking at Him.  I was focused only on the Path.

David E. Edgin
Copyright 2008 by David E. Edgin
[email protected]