By Mallory Mattingly
Atlanta Falcons running back Nathan Carter compared a dangerous hiking mishap to what happens when we stray from God.
Carter began an Instagram post with Psalm 81:13, which reads, “If only my people would listen to me and Israel would follow my ways.”
“I remember hiking alone, and there were signs and cautions everywhere telling hikers to stay on the trail and not go off course,” the running back wrote. “However, one day I got bored with staying on the trail. The off‑course paths looked more adventurous. So instead of following the direction given to me, I abandoned the original course.”
“It was nice for a while, until the way I chose became more rocky. I was slipping, falling and fearing for my life, realizing that if only I had stayed the course and followed the direction given to me, I would have avoided a dangerous situation,” he continued.
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Just like he veered off the path looking for a better adventure, Carter has done the same thing in his life.
“There have been times in my life when I felt God directing and guiding me. But because of my stubbornness and self-reliance, I abandoned His direction, thinking that my way was the best,” he reflected. “If only I’d listened to the direction and guidance of my Heavenly Father, I could have avoided the pain that I endured because of my disobedience.”
“This is the story of humanity. We think we thrive depending on ourselves. We think we know more than an eternal God. We are doomed by ourselves and headed into more heartbreak, brokenness, and destruction,” he added.
Luckily, Jesus can be our source of direction.
Jesus declares in John 14:6 that He is “the way, the truth and the life.”
“Therefore, if we attempt to follow our own way, our own truth, and our own way of living, it will only lead to death,” Carter wrote. “The most frightening situation for us to be in is for God to surrender us to our own willfulness, to our own desires and plans (Romans 1:21-32). But the Gospel frees us from ourselves. Jesus listened and obeyed the Father perfectly. Jesus did what we failed to do. And now, through Christ, we are empowered to obey God faithfully. We are transformed by grace, leading us to genuine faithful obedience to Him.”
“The best place to be is in a place of total dependence. It is when we are totally dependent on God that He meets us with His redeeming grace and unfailing love. To walk with us through the trails of life and to deliver us from the temptation of self-sufficiency,” he concluded. “Our ways lead to our downfall, but Christ has liberated us from that and invites us to experience the fullness of life by trusting and receiving Him.”
Carter’s message points to a simple but life-changing truth: while going our own way may seem appealing at first, true security, purpose and freedom are found in trusting God’s direction and walking faithfully with Him.
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