Sustained by God on the Path of Righteousness

In this episode, we reflect on Psalm 23:3 and the truth that God does not only call us to righteousness; He leads, helps, and preserves us on that path. This message encourages you to depend on the ability God supplies instead of trying to live rightly by human strength alone. Through Psalm 23:3, Proverbs 2:8–9, 1 Peter 4:11, and John 15:5, we are reminded that consistency in righteousness is sustained by God.

Transcript

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But when we are faced with the same situation ourselves, we suddenly discover that righteous choices require more than good intentions, they require help, leadership, and sustaining power from God. Good morning and welcome to this episode of Igniting Your Day. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you spoke about a righteous path? You spoke about the good way to do a particular thing. You spoke about the way you knew we would honor the Lord. You explained what should be done, how it should be done, and why it should be done. But when you were faced with the same situation, you discovered that it was not as easy as it sounded. You realized that talk can be cheap. You began to understand how the people you once spoke to must have felt. You began to see that choosing the right path is not always as simple as describing it. What's before us this morning is this sustaining the path of righteousness. You know how easy it is to be loud when all that is expected from you is talking. But when you are faced with the same situation, it becomes hard to deliver. It becomes hard to live out what you had spoken about. This morning, the Lord brought a verse of scripture to my heart, and I must confess I had never really seen it this way before. It's from a popular verse of scripture, Psalm 23, verse 3. The Bible says here, He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake. He restores my soul, he leads me in the paths of righteousness, he does it for his name's sake. The first thing the Lord showed me is this you do not try to live a righteous life on your own mechanically. You do not simply attempt to follow the path of righteousness by human strength alone. The Bible says, He leadeth me. That means there is a power by which a righteous life is lived. This is not only about what we may call spiritual life, it also applies to our everyday responsibilities. At work, there is a power supplied from above to comply with what is right. There is a power supplied from above to do what is expected in a way that honors God. There is a power supplied from above to live correctly, to work correctly, to choose correctly. The Bible says, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness. You do not do right merely because it is the right thing to do. Yes, it is the right thing to do, but there is also a backing from heaven to do right. There is a backing from heaven to live the kind of life God expects us to live. He leads me, he leads me, he leads me in the paths of righteousness. The second thing the Lord showed me is this phrase, for his name's sake. That means he does not only lead me in the path of righteousness, he is also a stakeholder in that path. He has vested interest in my being led in the paths of righteousness. He does not just show me the path and leave me alone. He has interest in me continuing in that path. This teaches two things. First, we must dispens, we must depend rather on God because He is the one who leads. Second, we must understand that God has unwavering, vested interest in us continuing in the path of righteousness. If you want to live a sustained life of righteousness, if you want to follow the path of righteousness sustainably, you must know these two things. There is a divine backing, he leads you in the path of righteousness, and there is divine interest, he has vested interest in your continuing in that path. This morning, our prayer is simple. Lord, we want to do right, Lord, we want to do well, but we have seen that we can only do well by your power, we can only do well by your leading. We can only do well by your guardian, by your guidance. We can only do well in the atmosphere you create for us. We do not want to be mechanical about living right, we do not want to be mechanical about doing well, we want to proceed with the sustained enablement, sustained grace, and sustained ability that you supply. This is where 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 11 becomes important. The Bible says there, if any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth. That is the prayer this morning. That we proceed with the ability God supplies. Declare this over your life. I proceed with the ability God supplies. I do not rely on my own strength. I do not rely on my own wisdom. I do not rely on my own discipline alone. I proceed with what God supplies. Thank you, Heavenly Father. Let's look again at Psalm 23, verse 3. He restoreth my soul, he leads me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. I tell you, friends, he has unwavering vested interest in your following the paths of righteousness. How else do I know this? Let's read Proverbs chapter 2, verse 8 to 9. Proverbs chapter 2, verse 8 to 9. The Bible says there, he keepeth the paths of judgment and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity. Yea, every good path. Notice the movement here. He keeps the paths of judgment. He preserves the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness, judgment, equity, and every good path. Everything here is sustained by the Lord. What you need to do is yield. Psalm 23, verse 3 says, He leads me in the path of righteousness. It also says he does it for his name's sake. Proverbs chapter 2, verse 8 says, He keeps the path of judgment and preserves the way of his saints. That means God does not only lead you in the right path, he also protects you on that path. This is how God guarantees a sustainable, righteous life. This is how he helps us continue in sustainable paths of doing well. He guides the path, he preserves the way. So I declare this this morning. I am guided, I am kept, I am preserved, I am watched over on the paths of righteousness. And as you decide to take steps for the Lord, as you choose to do what is right, may you be kept on that path in the name of Jesus. Amen. Friends, why is this important? It is important because consistency has a better chance of drawing people to the Lord than random bursts of intensity. Let me say that again. Your consistency has a better chance of drawing people to the Lord than your random bursts of intensity. Remember that when you live well today, it may not be today that the person or the people who see you get convicted. Maybe they get convicted by tomorrow. Imagine if by coming to look for you tomorrow, they don't find you where they saw you yesterday. The Lord wants you to follow a sustainable path of righteousness. He does not want you to do well only today, he wants you to do well every day so that you become a consistent example to believers and to those outside the faith. The Lord wants you to be a consistent example. This morning, he is showing us how to continue sustainably on the paths of righteousness. First, he is the one who leads on that path. Second, he has unwavering vested interest in us following that path. Third, he preserves us on that path. That means to live sustainably on the path of righteousness, we must depend on him. Without him, we can do nothing. Jesus said in John chapter 15, verse 5, I am the vine, ye are the branches. For without me, ye can do nothing. Ye can do nothing. We depend on you, O God. Can you declare this over your home? My home depends on you. My family depends on you. My spouse depends on you. My children depend on you. Everything connected to me depends on you. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his needseke. He keeps the paths of judgment. He preserves the way of his sins. It's all by him, friends. Therefore, we declare that we proceed with the ability God supplies, we proceed with the strength God supplies, we proceed with the wisdom God supplies, we proceed with the grace God supplies. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. My friends, the Lord sustains you on the path of righteousness. He preserves the way of his saints. This matters because we do not want to do well today, become appealing to many people, and then when they are ready to come closer, they do not meet us where they met us before. The Lord wants you and me to be consistent in choosing the path of righteousness. Consistency has a better power to influence and draw people than your sudden bursts, your random bursts of intensity. The Lord does not want you to do well today and do less tomorrow. He wants you to do well today. He wants you to do well tomorrow. He wants you to do well continually. We have seen this morning that it is by his leadership. We have seen that he has vested interest in us continuing on that path. We have seen that he preserves us on that path. What does this tell us? Everything is by him. Everything is by him. That is why you and I must choose to proceed only with the ability God supplies. He is the one who introduces us to the path. He has vested interest in following the path. He is the one who preserves us on the path. So why should we not rely on him? Why should we not depend on him? Lord, in everything I do today, I depend on you. I do not proceed with any ability of my own. I proceed with what you supply. I proceed with the wisdom you supply. I proceed with the strength you supply. I proceed with the grace you supply. I proceed with the discipline you supply. I proceed with the abilities you supply. In all things at all times, I depend on you. I depend on you. Lord, I declare this morning that I am sustained on the path of righteousness. I declare this morning that I am led in the way that honors you. I declare this morning that I am preserved on the path that reflects your name. I declare this morning that I am kept consistent, not merely intense for a moment. I am kept consistent. Yes. Thank you, Heavenly Father. My friends, take a moment today to pray over one area of your life where doing the right thing has become difficult. And ask God specifically for the ability, the guidance, and grace to remain consistent on that path of righteousness. I wish you an amazing day ahead today. God bless you.