Proverbs 5:21 “For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths.”   Have you ever faced the experience of having a friend, family member or colleague become estranged or no longer want to be close to you?  There may be a legitimate reason or conflict that precipitated the strained or separated relationship.  In other cases, you know of nothing that would have caused the severance.  You may have repeatedly tried to repair the situation with no results.  Abraham and Lot split in the Old Testament, but Abraham did not go chasing after him.  Our verse this week makes it clear that our ways and the ways of those around us are before the eyes of the Lord and He watches our paths.

Have you ever given thought that God is watching and knows the circumstances far better than you do?  Maybe, you have gone chasing after them only to find that you get hurt even more.  If you have followed God’s Word, then let them go.  It is God Who watches out for us and our paths.  The bottom line is this: “God removes some people out of our lives to protect us.  Don’t run or chase after them.”  I have lived this in many of my previous leadership roles, and in many cases, it became evident that God protected me by removing them from my life.  I may not have seen it at the time, but it later became vivid.  Our response must be to obediently follow God’s leading, to trust him and to not follow after someone He has removed from our path of life.  He is our protection that will never fail.