"broaden the path"

When I was a young boy I loved sports, especially football. I loved football so much I’d cut pictures out of the newspaper of players getting tackled or scoring touchdowns. I’d put them up on the wall in my bedroom. My dream was to play football in high school, and hopefully in college. I was a fast little kid and seem to have some talent, so I, like most kids, thought I had a shot at making it. But then disaster hit. I developed a bone infection in my left foot and almost lost it. I was in the hospital 6 weeks, and when I got out I had to learn to walk again. I can’t tell how painful that experience was, it hurt so bad I couldn’t even lower my foot down from the bed and let the blood run back in it. I walked on crutches for a year, and the doctor told my parents that sports was out for me. My left foot was so weak and fragile if I broke it playing football it could cripple me for life. My heart was broken. My dreams were shattered.

I managed to play High School baseball four years, and one year of basketball, but my dream of football never happened. I was always in constant danger of turning my left ankle, and when I did it would be bad, I mean really bad. I’d have to walk on crutches for weeks. It was always something I knew was coming and just a matter of time, then wham I’d turn it. I was always living on the edge.

I believe life is like that, we are always on the edge. Things can change so quickly. A car wreck, disease, divorce, no job, no money, and maybe no house? Our life is so fragile that the bible says it’s like a vapor that just vanishes away. It’s obvious we all struggle, and we all know things, at times, can change rather quickly.

David in the bible was a man that struggled and lived on the edge probably more than most. But, he would always turn to God for his strength. I love what he says in Psalm 18:32-36:

“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.”

I love that last line, “You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.” From someone that knows all about turned ankles and the pain associated with them, this is a great promise. At times I find myself feeling the fragility of life, and the uncertainty of the day. Today was one of those days. But as I read this verse early this morning, God spoke to me yet again of His certainty and of His strength. I felt great comfort as I prayed for God to “broaden the path beneath me”.
Maybe you need that prayer today? If so, I pray that God will broaden your path and keep you from falling. - Gary