Point Out the Road by Amy Duncan

Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

Psalm 25:4-5

Several years ago, Greg and I set out on the road to visit our son and daughter-in-law in Bloomington, Indiana. They had been in Indiana for a few years pursuing graduate degrees, so it was a trip we had made several times. The fall day was crisp and beautiful, and we were listening to an engrossing audiobook. At some point, we began to realize that the scenery was not familiar, and we were passing through towns we didn’t recognize. We found ourselves heading more north than east, so we pulled over to assess our situation. To this day, we’re still not clear where we went astray, but our best guess is that we had accidentally set our navigation to Bloomington, Illinois, instead of Bloomington, Indiana.

The Psalmist in today’s passage implores God to “show me the right path, O Lord” and to “point out the road for me to follow.” What an amazing thought that the God of the universe would know each of us so well and love each of us so dearly as to give us direction in our lives. God has concern for our decisions both big and small. As in our wayward car journey, we can so easily find ourselves distracted, headed in the wrong direction, or even pointed toward the wrong destination. What a powerful gift to know that we can ask God to help us find our way back to the best path forward.

AMY DUNCAN