I used to hike, doing what is called “bush-wacking.” I hiked for miles across trail-less terrain using a topographical map whose imagery revealed the various elevations of a mountain range and the locations of deep, dead-end canyons. Following that map saved me a lot of extra hiking and disappointment.
If a person wants to navigate life wisely, they need to understand its social and spiritual topography. That topography will reveal the ups and downs of life’s terrain. It will either take us up to the high places of God’s Spirit, or by not following its terrain indicators, it will cause us to descend into dark, dead-end canyons.
It’s easy during times of peace and safety to form untested theologies about God, human sexuality, or how the end times will transpire. The problem with those determinations is that they were created without being tested against the truth of God’s word, reality, or common sense. Those issues won’t lead us in the right direction because they lack the truth about spiritual topography.
Understanding what happened to the kings of Israel, Judah, and all the nations that have appeared across history is important. Those leaders who choose to follow increasing levels of immorality, idolatry, and spiritual complacency will eventually infect a nation and lead it to its demise.
If the truth of God’s word has been abandoned, evil will prevail and create complicit governments that will exchange God’s truth for the support of a lie.
Only God’s word and a commonsense application of His truth will reveal the topography of what we are facing. It will create a pathway of truth that will lead us into a better future.
It is like what happened to Paul while he was preaching in Athens before a group of prominent philosophers. After giving a detailed account of the Gospel, Paul said, “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).
Only Jesus, the resurrected Christ, can give us an understanding of life’s terrain and how to navigate its obstacles. Without Him, all our efforts will fail, and we will end up in places God never intended for us to visit.
If left to themselves, people will always follow a path of ignorance into the depths of their current deception. Only when we allow God’s truth to lead us will we be able hike across a trailless cultural terrain and avoid the pitfalls of a misstep.
The Lord’s voice will guide our steps across unmapped spiritual territory. “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21).
This is so true. If we read and meditate on God’s Word, He will direct our paths! If not, we have a very tortures journey.