My husband had to be at church early last weekend and as it was the most beautiful cool crisp and clear winter’s day, with the sun shining, I asked my husband to drop me off at a park nearby so I could go in search of a Flame Robin I’d seen there a year before. My plan was to walk to the church after about a half hour or so of photography.
I was not only rewarded with seeing the robin and his new family but also some sacred ibis in flight and a swan and its mate and their three cygnets. Plus beautiful views in the park throughout.
I trod along the paths that were set there for everyone to walk on, but I only got to see most of the ‘treats’ by treading off the beaten path. I thought about that as I walked along and felt that God was speaking to me once again. It was almost like I could hear His voice in my head telling me that it was ok to go ‘off the beaten track’.
Often when we talk about going off the beaten track it can mean people going astray or as we say ‘going off track’ but in this case I believe God meant that by not following the world, but by following Him we are moving ‘off the beaten track’. There are times when we will do things that seem averse to the way of the world and what is commonly accepted practice. As Christians we are expected to shine a light and be aware that our actions are always on display. Instead of travelling on ‘the beaten track’ we are to follow the path that Jesus led which was very much off the beaten track.
As I walked off the beaten track last Sunday in the park I was delighted with things I would not have seen had I stayed on the track. Two of those items are pictured below.
Are you travelling the path that God would have you travel or are you travelling the one that the world would have you travel?
This Flame Robin could not be seen from the path I was walking on, it wasn’t until after I’d left the path and ventured towards a fence that I saw the robin on the ground beyond the fence.
This family of swans were hiding in the reeds and it wasn’t until I drew closer to the water that they moved out so I could see them. Had I stayed on the path up the hill I would not have seen them at all – or only specks in the distance.
Isaiah 42:16 … along unfamiliar paths I will guide them, I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.