We continue our series this week “Looking for the Good Way” with the verse that brought us to this subject, Jeremiah 6:16.

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

We will start our journey with God’s instructions to the people of Judah to pause at a time of decision and look for the old, proven paths of God’s word and wisdom, and walking in them to find true rest for our souls. The contrast here is very simple. We’re looking at the good way of God compared to the our rebellious corrupt ways in which we reject God’s guidance and it leads to the destructive consequences while we instead choose to refuse the path that is offered to salvation. I suppose that’s a rather fancy way of saying we’re just not living as God would have us live as a people or a nation, and we are in danger of God’s wrath. The ways of this world are without doubt, not compatible with God’s will for his people. As Christians, we are called out to be different to serve, and to be mindful of God’s will in our lives. Let’s look at some of the key elements of this verse that we are highlighting today. The simple sentence stand at the crossroads and look is pure imagery, which we find a lot in the Bible that signifies a crucial point of decision where people must stop reflect and consider their options. I prefer to use the word direction… So where are we to find that correct direction? We are to ask God, to seek God’s will, to look for the ancient paths because that’s where the good way lies. It’s really rather basic. We are called to seek our God’s long established ways and pay attention to his timeless wisdom which in this day and time are contrasted with the new, corrupt path that we as a people are following. This verse makes it very clear that we must change our direction.. It’s not that difficult to understand that following God’s ancient ways will lead us to a spiritual peace and rest that contrasted to the false peace promised by our corrupted ways that dominate our daily lives now. Just as the people of Judah had become corrupt and materialistic and filled with immorality so have we. We, as the people have been subjected to assurance of peace and safety misleading the people while God’s judgment is a real promise of what is to come. We as a people have rejected God’s true warnings, the council of his word, choosing instead to walk in our own destructive ways. This verse offers us very practical wisdom for navigating what’s going on in our world today. We are encouraged to seek God’s guidance and we do so by turning to the good way rather than following current trends. There are many distractions in our world today, but we can find true peace by following God’s establish ways rather than following or pursuing these worldly distractions. And we are reminded, just as Judah faced disaster for rejecting God’s wisdom so long ago, we’re very much guilty of doing very same thing in our circumstances in today’s time. Ignoring God’s ways has severe consequences both here in our world now and in the world to come.

So we add these two directions to our map to the Good Way. Remember the 10 Commandments, seek and understand God’s word and instructions, and then start out on the good way.

Life is Good

jk