Stumbling Off the Ancient Path

Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ And I set watchmen over you, saying, "Attend to the sound of the shofar." But they said, 'We will not attend.'

In these two verses, God is explaining why He is displeased, indeed, why He is about to act with vengeance. He had told them how to find the good road, the right path for life, but they would not walk there. He had even set watchmen, others who had been looking so that if someone had not heard the Lord directly he would get the warning to listen from a person who did know the path. But they would not listen to them either.

In fact. When we back up a couple of verses, we find that the people had put a superficial patch on the problem, announced they had solved it, and were not in the least bit ashamed that they were still in full-fledged rebellion and out of God's will. "They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace." Verse 14

Jeremiah penned these lines to a patriarchal society that better understood the significance of following godly traditions. Today, we no longer live in a society that holds a God-is-Father view to help keep us on "the ancient paths where the good way is." Few people have a strong father who is deeply engaged in their lives to whom they can look for guidance and the comfort of encouragement.

And even though KatieLyn came from an intact Christian family, she still did not have a father figure who knew the marked train, was ready to show her how to follow the path, and who would give her the security of reassurance she needed to walk it out.

Instead of receiving what she needed from her father, the inspiration to walk in faith, she was assailed with the doubts and concerns that could not build her up, but would surely weaken her ability to trust others and to trust even herself.

One thing that I have come to realize as I worked through the saga of the runaway bride is that Gwen never trusted Joe, not fully. Not even largely. I have come to suspect that she projected a lot of her own bad experience onto Joe. She told me that her early years of marriage were a struggle. Her daughter's story bears little resemblance to Gwen's own story, but I never saw Gwen make that distinction. It bothered Joe quite a bit when Gwen just unquestionably anticipated that as newlyweds, he and KatieLyn would fight a lot. 

Every healthy relationship begins with hoping for the best. Far from being "smart" to look for problems, it is downright devilish and perverse. It is like opening the door wide and inviting the devil in.  Paul wrote to the Philippians, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things." 4:8  It is this kind of well-speaking that builds up good relationships.

Fixating on what can go wrong is among the fastest ways to destroy a relationship. Lies and betrayal might top it, but not by much because constantly imagining problems eventually create an atmosphere as toxic as the problem itself.

Yet that was the parental leadership that KatieLyn received! To consume the mind with potential problems! KatieLyn's self-image was pretty frail to begin with; Gwen had to know that knocking out her daughter's trust in having heard the Lord would do her in.  

Trust is central to a good relationship. In fact, no relationship can grow beyond its level of trust. In a codependency, trust is like Swiss cheese with pockets and holes. Gwen's trust in KatieLyn was very solid in some areas, but in other ways she treated her like a 14-year-old child. That was the thing that stuck with me the first time I saw KatieLyn and her mom together: that they interacted as if KatieLyn was still a young teenager. I was a touch dumbstruck because, to me, the hallmark of good parenting is being able to release adult children, who you can trust with your life, into the world and see them thrive. 

Wrapping back to the original scripture for this post, God was announcing his wrath for Israel's chronic disobedience and refusal to follow His plan. Surely the Lord cannot be pleased that KatieLyn was discouraged from following His will for her life. Today's lesson from the runaway bride illustrates the truth of Galatians 5:9—

A little yeast leavens the whole lump of dough. 

In the case of the runaway bride, the yeast was Gwen's failure to trust that Her daughter could hear the Lord's answer to prayer. Her yeast infected KatieLyn. KatieLyn then lost her trust in what she had heard from the Lord. The leaven continued its work as it damaged Joe's trust in KatieLyn.

Gwen can look around at the rising devastation that she began with her leaven of doubt and reassure herself by musing, 'See what a mess this is? The marriage never would have worked! I was right to have doubts.' But that thought did not come from the Lord. It isn't true. The recalcitrant Israelites had a superficial fix and false peace that appeared to work for a while, but appearances are often deceiving. Looking to what is seen in the flesh instead of trusting the Lord's answer is what allowed the doubts to enter in the first place.  In Jeremiah 6:21 the judgment is announced; Therefore this is what the LORD says: "I will put stumbling blocks before this people. Parents and children alike will stumble over them."

KatieLyn was poised on the ancient path, where the good way is; and she was ready to walk in it, and find rest for her soul. But then she stopped trusting her faith and said, ‘I will not walk in it.’

The Lesson
It is not a new path. It is an ancient path because God does not change. The Lord expected Adam to have faith in Him from the very beginning. To walk the ancient path is a walk of faith.