The Ancient Path

“Thus says the Lord: Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it. Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in it.” Jeremiah 6:16 (NKJV)

The Path of Life is not new. It is the old path, the ancient way walked by men and women who gave themselves wholly to God in secret and in public. It is not trendy or viral. It is built on knees, soaked in tears, sealed in private devotion. This path looks like early rising and long waiting. It looks like fasting, fire, and self-denial. It is brokenness, holy  living, and hidden obedience. It is faithful service for the honour of His name, not for a title or a microphone.

John Wesley walked this way. He rose at 4:30 AM to meet God in prayer and study. He preached over 40,000 sermons and rode more than 250,000 miles on horseback to carry the gospel. He fasted twice a week, not for show, but for power. His was a life laid down, not a ministry built up. George Whitefield followed this same road, burning for souls. He preached to crowds of 30,000 without a microphone. His voice thundered because his knees had travailed. He was soaked in intercession, he wept over the lost, he preached with tears, and God answered with mighty results. Charles Spurgeon also lived on this path. He read six books a week, preached up to ten times weekly, and spent hours groaning in prayer. He said, “I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.” That is priesthood, not performance.

These were not entertainers. They were burning men, consumed by God. They were deep wells, not shallow waters. This is the old path. This is the good way. They carried weight because they carried God. They knew the way up was through their knees. Their power came from communion. Their boldness came from the secret place. Their joy was not in results but in His presence. Their strength was not crowds. It was Christ.

Here is where rest is found: not in noise, not in branding, not in activity, but in the secret place. Yet the tragedy still resounds in the response of the people to God in that same opening scripture, “But they said, We will not walk in it.” We are living in that same rebellion now. This is that stubborn generation that mocks the old path and calls it legalism, that calls fire old-fashioned, that prefers applause over the altar, likes over longing, performance over presence, trends over truth, activity over intimacy, crowds over consecration. Spiritual discipline is now labelled as the spirit of religion.  How can a mere man look God in the face and say, “I will not walk in it”? Unbelievable, yet it is happening.

So we want fire without waiting, revival without repentance, miracles without intimacy, mantles without hunger, open doors without discipline, microphones without intercession. We want stages but run from caves. No wonder there is no rest. There is noise but no voice, movement but no direction, gifts but no weight. We left the ancient path and wonder why the wells are dry. We are loud but not deep, busy but not fruitful, visible but not spiritual. 

Prayer: Lord, show me the ancient path and I will walk in it. Teach me the old way. Deliver me from this generation’s obsession with performance. Baptize me again in the secret place. Let my mornings be Yours. Let my body be a living sacrifice. Let my time belong to You. Let my name mean nothing and let Your name mean everything. Let my life burn on the altar. I do not want noise, I want weight. I do not want trends, I want truth. I do not want applause, I want fire. Show me the ancient path, and I will walk in it.