Iron Shoes: When the Road is Long

What if the road is long?

Sometimes we need shoes made of iron.

We learned a very simple truth two weeks ago.

God prepares us for a task by providing us with the right kind of shoes.

We concentrated on one verse of Scripture, Deuteronomy 33:25

Your sandals shall be iron and bronze; As your days, so shall your strength be. We have discussed what that passage might mean. We have asked questions for when the road gets rough, long or lonely.

But what if the road is long?

Have you ever been on a long road? A few weeks’ ago, I needed to travel from Louisville to Batesville, Indiana. I did what more than 40 million in North America do – search for directions on a web app. I was surprised to find that there were several viable ways to get to Batesville. There were more than a few factors that I needed to consider.

What do we do when the length of the rough road becomes excruciating?

I had to decide how I wanted to drive and how long I wanted to take. Some routes were faster. Some routes contained better roads. I could drive Interstate all the way to Cincinnati and Interstate all the way to Batesville. I could drive through Indiana backroads the entire trip. I also had about four other choices somewhere in-between.

Even though I chose partial Interstate and partial Federal highway, there were parts of my journey where the road was narrow and winding. Before I arrived, the road just seemed long. Life is that way, isn’t it? Sometimes things seem to go quickly and smoothly, only to find at times life becomes winding and treacherous.

What do we do when the length of the rough road becomes excruciating? The Psalmist David provides the starting point for our endurance during a long journey with God in the 32^nd Psalm. The Psalm takes about eleven verses; we won’t print all of the verses here for space. Try reading it from your favorite translation. David points out three important truths about the length of our journey.

First, the way seems long because of sin.

When we sin against God, we wrestle with guilt and fear. We understand that judgment is one of God’s tools, and we do not want to be on the receiving end. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, we spend a great deal of time hiding. Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards reminded us that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.

Unforgiven sins against others forms bitterness, resentment and anger.  Pastor and author John Piper writes, “Most of our bitterness and anger towards others is rooted in an inability to be profoundly amazed at Christ’s love for us in our sin. If you are struggling with bitterness then it may be that the Lord is letting the very sin that is flowing from your inability to see Christ be the means by which you come to see him.

In other words, perhaps this season of rage, anger, and a fed-up “I’m out of here and don’t want anything to do with you” spirit is where you have had to come in order to see the greatness of your sin as a forgiven and justified saint. And the Lord has done it so that you would be stunned at his grace in a deeper way.”

Woodrow Kroll says, “When the root is bitterness, imagine what the fruit might be.” Eliminating bitterness will take miles off your road.

Second, times of prayer changes perspective on the journey’s length.

Our times of prayer affirm our faithfulness – that we are traveling the right path. In that 32^nd Psalm David writes,

Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. ⁷ You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. ⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

David directly connects our prayers and understanding the way that we should go.

Finally, the journey is always the shortest when we follow God’s way.

God is involved in your path. He will instruct you. He will teach you. He will counsel you. His loving eye is always upon you. Paul puts it this way:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28 NIV).

My road to Batesville was peppered with mile markers. The printed directions told me that if I passed Jim’s barn I had gone too far. The app on my phone had an annoying voice that beckoned me to do a U-turn. Even the back roads have signs along the way telling me how many miles left before my journey’s end.

It’s 100 AD and you’re driving your chariot down a Roman road. You come to a crossroad and see a sign that tells you to stop to wait for passing traffic.  Amazingly, even in Roman times, traffic signs were useful and very much a part of the culture of the time. The ancient Romans used tall columns called “milestones” to relay information to travelers on its roads. They indicated how far away Rome was, and gave travelers directional information, and were some of the earliest road signs in the Western world.

God continually uses mile markers in our lives to point the way. The Bible marks our path. Trusted friends and companions offer words of encouragement and advice. Just when we need it most, a song or a sermon will point us back to the path that is straight and narrow.

We should never wonder which way to go – which way is the Lord’s.

Jesus said the way is narrow – and the gate is small. If our way seems broad and appealing it probably is not the Lord’s.

Remember, you have shoes fitted for your feet to endure a long journey.