"...Ask for ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it: and you will find rest for your souls."
Jeremiah 6:16
Four-thirty in the morning comes early, but I have made up my mind the night before that this day is our cycling day. My husband and I rise early four out the five weekdays to get our exercise in before we leave for work. We are on the road by five with headlights streaming through the dark, early morning hours. It is a commitment we make and keep because we have decided this is what we are going to do. Yes, some mornings I feel groggier than others, and some mornings I am the one reminding my husband that what we decided the night before will be followed through in our moment of weakness.
Why do we decide and commit? Because we both know that our aging bodies require movement to stay functional. Like most people, we want to take our lives into the longest distance possible and exercise is a tool toward achieving this goal.
To decide and commit is to understand what is important. Once you understand what is important, following through with a decision to commit becomes easier.
The ancient paths, as noted in Jeremiah, is a reference to the truths of God's ways. These truths have been tried and evidenced as true through the lives of those who have acted upon them in faith. History reveals blessings and rest to those faithful and obedient to His revelations.
Like exercise, I too have decided that God's truths are important. And when I decide to commit to them, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and selfcontrol" are the gifts I recieve and bestow onto others (Galatians 5:23-24).
Today, decide what is important and commit. When you are weak, remind yourself of the blessings and rest in following through.
When you make up your mind, following through becomes a matter of remembering what you have decided.
