“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:” (1st Peter 2:21)
I would like to continue in a conversation with you that my lovely wife and I were discussing this morning, that of the work of a detective, a Spiritual detective, if you will.
How are we to see the footsteps of the Lord if we are on rocky ground, if we are close to the shoreline where every wave washes them away, if the emissaries of our adversary steal the breadcrumbs that our Savior has left for us to follow. What does it take for a man of God to be a proficient Spiritual detective when the Lord is not walking beside us, but has gone far ahead?
Clue number one might be, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” (John 10:27)
As we are foraging around in the world, performing the required daily deeds of life, we must always have our ears tuned to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we cannot completely tune out the world, but we can turn the volume down just enough to be able to hear what we are meant to hear.
Have you not noticed that the world is growing in this regard? Every news item is “breaking news,” every diversion is meant to seem as if it should require all your attention, meant to captivate you in every possible aspect of your thoughts.
But we know the truth, and that could be clue number two. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2nd Cor. 10:5)
If your thoughts are revolving around the Scriptures, the news of the world will be secondary, we will hear what it has to say, use deductive reasoning skills built on a foundation of the knowledge of the Scriptures to evaluate their importance to the eternal, and then respond accordingly as is needed. And if you have been blessed with even a modicum of these Spiritual detective skills, you realize that the majority of what you hear can, as it is said, go in one ear and out the other.
“The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)
That is clue number three, when we cannot see our Lord’s footsteps we do not stop on the path, we continue to move forward, when it is dark we fill our lantern and continue on, but that is impossible unless you are performing one of main the duties that you know have been set before you, to study to show yourself approved.
There is only one place in all the world where the path is clearly revealed, the Word of God, and if you do not study it daily, you will lose your way. If for whatever reason you cannot do so, then you should be adhering to Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
Reading the Word of God, studying the Scriptures, memorizing them, contemplating them continuously, these are the opening classes in becoming Spiritually discerning, this is Spiritual detective 101.
The clues are all there, hidden to those who have not been born-again, plainly seen by those who seek the face of God daily for His glory. The path is not always clear, but still we move forward and in faith, it is not always smooth, but in pain, trials and tribulation we do not stop, we trust that He will reveal to us the breadcrumbs, the clues.
How do we know, how can we know without a shadow of a doubt that we are following Him even when we cannot see His footsteps clearly? Because we know He loves us and has called us to Himself.
If you understand in your soul John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” then you will be led even when you cannot see the path.