Travel Steady Along His Path

In one paragraph

This was the last Sunday of 2023, and Brian led Tribe fam through a look back at the compass bearing the church had carried through the year, drawn from Psalm 37:34: "Put your hope in the Lord, travel steadily along his path, and he will honor you by giving you the land." The morning was more conversation than lecture, with the congregation sharing what they had seen that verse produce in their...

Read together

1. Psalm 37:34 central verse for the year: put your hope in the Lord, travel steadily along his path
2. Proverbs 25 it is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of a king to search it out
3. Isaiah 62 give the Lord no rest until he completes all that he has promised
4. Proverbs 3:6 seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take
5. Proverbs 3:5 trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding
6. Psalm 23 he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake
7. Romans 8:1 there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
8. 1 John 1:9 if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from all wrongdoing
9. Psalm 37:7 be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him, fret not over the one who prospers in his way

What was said

• Open Blue Letter Bible this week and look up one word from Psalm 37:34 in the Hebrew to see what is underneath the English translation.
• When you wake up in the morning before you get out of bed, take a moment to say 'Lord, you are good' and turn your attention toward him before the day starts.
• Write down three specific things the Lord did for you in 2023, the way Cathy kept notes through the year, so you have something concrete to look back on.
• On a walk this week, pick up one small thing as a physical act of actively looking for evidence of God's goodness rather than just saying the words.
• Come to the worship night at the TMC tonight from seven to nine and enter the new year with surrendered worship rather than a party.

Talk about it

1. Brian described waking up early and simply saying 'Lord, you're so good,' and feeling his presence wash over him from that small act. When has a simple, unplanned moment of turning your attention toward God surprised you with something you weren't expecting?
2. The congregation looked back at the compass bearing from a year ago: Psalm 37:34, 'Put your hope in the Lord, travel steadily along his path.' Where did you personally see that verse play out in your own life over 2023, and where did you fall short of it?
3. Brian described three kinds of waiting: doctor's office waiting, birthday waiting, and finish line waiting. Which of those has most described how you have been waiting on God in a specific area of your life, and what would it look like to shift toward finish line waiting in that area?
4. Several people shared that 'stay close' has been the clearest direction they have heard from God, and more than one person admitted that felt frustrating or hard to sit with. Why do you think a simple instruction like 'stay close' can be harder to follow than a big, clear vision?
5. Lissa described two notebooks: one the enemy fills with our failures, and one God is quietly building from every moment between him and us. Which book do you find yourself reading most often, and what would it take to start paying more attention to the one God is writing?