Directions to the “Good Way”

May 28, 2025

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)

Yellowstone National Park is home to over 50% of the world’s hydrothermal features, with more than 10,000 in the park; over 500 of these are geysers.

Yellowstone National Park sits atop a geologically active super volcano. Snow and rainwater seep through the groundthrough fractures in the rock and become superheated by the magma that lies beneath. The hot water then rises throughthe earth, picking up sulfuric acid and thermophile microorganisms. Eventually, pressure builds beneath the water as it finds itself constricted moving through the earth. This pressure pushes it upwards, and it rises to the surface in different ways including:

*Hot Springs – Pools of hydrothermally-heated water.

*Geysers – Hot Springs with constrictions in the plumbing causing them to periodically erupt to release pressure.

*Mudpots – Hot Springs so acidic, they dissolve surrounding rock.

*Travertine Terraces – Hot Springs, which rise through limestone, dissolve calcium carbonate, and deposit calcite. This produces terraces.

*Fumaroles – Steam vents. These lack water and constantly release hot steam.

Many of these hydrothermal features are beautiful as microorganisms, called “thermophiles,” make their home in their waters. Trillions of these “thermophiles” will group together and will appear as mats of color. The most beautiful…certainly the best known…is the Prismatic.

But as beautiful as some of these pools and geysers and springs and terraces are, they are also extremely dangerous.

Since 1872, there have been 22 deaths and countless injuries because of these many hydrothermal features throughout Yellowstone National Park. To give you an idea of why they are so dangerous:

*Average Temperature = 198-275 degrees F

*Heart Lake Geyser Basin = Alkalinity is 10; Bleach is 12

*Mud Volcano = Acidity is 2; Battery Acid is 0

Therefore, throughout the park, at every stop where people travel across man-made boardwalks to observe the hotsprings and geysers and mudpots, there are warning signs.

Even with so many signs advising visitors of the dangers if they step off the boardwalk, many still refuse to listen to the warnings and risk it.

Sometimes we do not like being told what we can and cannot do, but sometimes the signs are in place to protectus, to guide us in the right direction, and to keep us on the safest path.

God has given us a book of road signs and calls us to obey, to trust that God knows what is best for each of us and will guide us in the right direction.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’ttry to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. (Proverbs 3:5-6, MSG)

Imagine a man purchases an unassembled swing-set for his children. This man is like me, so he has no experience working with tools and does not have the mind or patience for putting things together. Unlike many men, he reads theinstruction manual. He also consults with people who have assembled such things before. Before long, he can set upthe swing-set the way it was designed so it will be safe for his children.

There will be memories built around this swing-set as the children play on it, as he pushes his daughter on the swing, and as other neighborhood kids stop by creating new relationships for children and parents alike. If he had ignored the owner’s manual, he would have been courting frustration and possible disaster.

There are built-in rewards for simply following instructions.

All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training inrighteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; so that the [a]man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:6-17, AMP).

Over and over throughout the scriptures, God calls us to obedience and reminds us that if we are obedient, if we willfollow the wisdom and instructions God has given us in His Word, we will be blessed.

*God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, “Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you” (7:23).

*Jesus said, “…the people who are really blessed are the ones who hear and obey God's message!” (Luke 11:28, CEV).

*James writes:

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. Yousee yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless youfor doing it. (1:22-25 NLT)

When we do not follow God’s instructions, the results can be tragic. We see this truth playing out before us every day:

•  Long-term abuse of our bodies brings sickness.

•  Wrong choices come back to haunt us.

•  A decision to give into peer pressure and try drugs for the first-timeresults in one’s death.

• Cheating leads to being caught and receiving an F on an exam or being audited by the IRS.

•  A one-night stand destroys a marriage.

•  An unwillingness to forgive produces a hardened heart and a bitter life.

One decision can destroy a relationship, cost us our job, lead us down the road to addiction, cost a life, or start a war, just as one step off a boardwalk in Yellowstone National Park can lead to drowning in deep, hot, acidic waters.

If we allow ourselves to be distracted, tempted, and enticed by others to go in a direction outside God’s path, it can end in disaster.

My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are alot of lying preachers loose in the world. (I John 4:1, MSG)

If we allow ourselves to ignore God’s “still, small voice” because it doesn’t make sense to us, we do not understand why we cannot go in the direction we want, or we cannot see ahead and how our actions will affectothers, we might get burned.

He who trusts confidently in his own heart is a [dull, thickheaded] fool, But he who walks in [skillful and godly] wisdom will be rescued. (Proverbs 28:26, AMP)

Throughout Yellowstone National Park, there are signs telling us not to leave the boardwalks around the hot springsand geysers and mudpits. There are signs telling us not to go too close to the edge of cliffs and waterfalls.

God’s Word is our road sign and where it says, “Do Not Enter,” we should probably stay away. God has given us directions to the “good way.”

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)