As I hiked at Mono Cliffs this weekend, I came across a fellow hiker who was lost, and couldn't find the parking lot. He reminded me of a youth pastor friend of mine whose name is Trevor.

A few years ago, in the early spring, he decided to go hiking at Mono Cliffs Park for a few hours to spend some time alone with God.

He took his guitar and a briefcase full of books, and began his walk.

There was some snow on the ground, and this concerned him a bit; but it was a mild day so off he went with briefcase full of study books in one hand and guitar in the other.

And like so many other hikers, he got lost.

Trevor wandered through the woods for three hours, somehow walked out of the park, and came upon a house. The woman at the house wouldn't open the door to him, but he pleaded with her to at least tell him how to get back to his car.

She finally opened the door enough to tell him to go back into the woods and follow the trail always veering to the left, and it would lead him directly to the parking lot.

He questioned her about always veering left, thinking he would only end up back where he was now; but she convinced him to trust her; saying he would find it easily.

Off he went. Two hours later, he ended up right back at her house!

I asked him why he didn't follow his own footsteps, but Trevor said by the time he thought of that, there were footprints going in both directions! Finally, after six hours of trudging in the snow and carrying 30 pounds of books around with him, he finally got back to his car. He hadn't read one book, or even opened his guitar case.

I can see a spiritual parallel here. Is it possible to go so far off course in our life, wandering around from one direction to another, that we lose sight of the right path altogether?

If the trails were bare, Trevor might have still gotten lost, but at least he would know if he left the main path. It would have been more of a choice, in that case. But with snow all over the ground, he could not tell where the paths were.

Have we covered up the clear path God has laid out for us in His word by allowing other things to mean more to us than His way or His will? I think this is a danger many Christians face. We try to follow God's will, but our selfimage gets in the way. We care about God's leading, but we also care about what other people think of us.

Allowing these attitudes to continue, without recognizing them as sin, like allowing a layer of snow to build up over the path of God's will, so that we still think we're following it but we can't see too clearly anymore.

Can you think of any situations in your life where this might be the

case? case?

How do we get on the right path? How do we know where God intends for us to go, which is the right path for us to follow in life? The answers are found in the Bible. God's word is "a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path" (Psalm 119:105).

Most of us that are Christians know this already. God has given us clear guidelines for living in His word and our obedience to His direct commands results in His continual guidance in those grey areas.

Jesus cautioned us that "the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful." (Mark 4:19).

Are you having trouble seeing the path? Maybe it is because the Word of God has become unfruitful in you.

Are their worries or desires that are choking the Word of God in your life?

Examine your own heart, and ask God to keep the paths of your life clear.