Our modern high-tech world improves our lives and thrills us with possibilities. Google provides answers within seconds. Sophisticated navigation systems get us where we want to go more efficiently. Communication capabilities reach beyond our imagination. What will the mind of man come up with next?
Technology’s downside—our lives are not simpler but more complex. We face multiple choices daily with pressure to decide more quickly. Tantalized by options unlimited, we look for solutions that glitter and ingenious answers never thought of before. We’re trained to look to new ways and reject the old ones.
Jeremiah, a wise Hebrew prophet, offers a different perspective.
“This is what the Lord says:
Stand at the crossroads and look;
Ask for the ancient paths,
Ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
And you will find rest for your souls” Jeremiah 6:16.
Pick out the verbs in this verse: stand, look, ask, ask, walk, find.
• Stand at the crossroad, a place where two roads intersect, symbolic of decision-making.
• Look at the choices. Weigh your options.
• Ask for the ancient path. Where do you find the ancient path? In the Book.
• Ask where the good way is. Ask God to show you.
• Walk in it. Live according to its precepts.
• Find: The result? You will find rest for your soul.
The canopy of trees in this photograph evokes a sense of safety, protection, a covering of security. God’s Word leads us on the narrow road—the path that leads to life. Our security lies not only in our certain future with God, but in our present, because God is with us now. He leads us day by day through instruction in his Word. We move forward by faith, with rest for our souls.
Technology benefits our lives in countless ways. AND it seduces us with the allure of new things to try and new paths to take. But it can’t deliver on rest for the soul. That’s a claim that only God can make.
We use technology, but we handle it with discernment, as both a gift and a stewardship. But we trust the mind of our timeless God, more than the mind of man or machine.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the temptation to trust “the new” instead of “the old.”
Thanks for this message of the way to calm and peace; I seek the road to serenity every time.
Excellent job. Great perspective on technology vs God’s Word.
You kill me Janet! How DO you come up with this amazing-ness all the time. Gonna read this to the boys at dinner and discuss it.
Can’t wait to see what their 11 and 17 year old minds think.
I love NOTHING as much as an obscure verse being brought out into our modern day world —showcasing how TIMELESS scripture is and why mega-memorizing is a fantastic passion for anyone who chooses it.
Last year I upgraded to a smart phone. There was one phone I had my heart set on. When it was advertised it would only cost me a penny I decided to go for it. I had held out so long for multiple reasons. The biggest one was I didn’t want the convenience of a smart phone to dominate my life. I have seen so many people “married” to their phones and my fear was it would happen to me. There have been times I catch myself letting my phone take time away from my husband and even my dog, Benji. I make a conscious effort to put the phone down. Thank you Janet for today’s message and passage. It’s a good reality check of where I’m at.
The picture alone draws me in! And the verse is one of my favorites. Even the word “ancient” I respect greatly. It’s like God’s name, “ancient of days” – I feel pulled to it as if there is wisdom from of old in there. Ancient means it’s been around a long time, so an ancient path must be a tried and true one. Even that concept conveys peace. Technology is hurried and ever changing and stressful. Even as I type this I am in the parking lot at Office Depot to buy a new printer because I have spent hours pulling my hair out the last couple of days trying all Google said to try to get my old printer to work. Ugh, the frustration. I need technology to do my work, but work is pointless if I don’t have rest for my soul. Thank you for a reminder about the ancient path.
Great message Janet! I have had an iphone for many years (about 7) and I’ve been considering trading it in for an old fashioned flip phone. I find myself so drawn to it, checking it way too often. I deleted my facebook and instagram recently because I checked them constantly.. whenever I had a pause in my day I would open social media and check it. I would turn to entertainment instead of God’s word or prayer, which is a huge problem. I was spending more time on facebook than in the bible. Since deleting them it’s been better, but I’m still drawn to my iphone when I get “bored”- even just checking good, christian sites or google-searching something distracts me from fellowship with God when I do it too often. And my husband and I have been watching too much TV after work. Sometimes I wish I lived back in the past when all this technology wasn’t around- there were so many less distractions back then! But since I don’t, I have to be deliberate about staying off my phone & other technologies. I want to go down the ancient path of God’s word, because I know it’s where true life is!
Hi Trisha, Thank you for being so open about this struggle. I think we all feel the pull of social media and the desire to keep up with the latest technology and entertainment. Like you said, its a matter of deliberate choices daily, and even moment by moment. It is the struggle of our generation, but God will help us. We hear you, and we share your dilemma.