Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, And when you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.
Proverbs 4:10-15
Proverbs 4:10-15
As we "drive" through life often times we are faced with "detour signs". These signs are presented to us in different forms. We may be rejected by someone, we may be told "no" when we were sure the answer would be "yes", maybe "things" just don't work out the way we expected them to. How do we react? Do we find ourselves reacting as though something was taken away from us that we were supposed to have? We had things all "planned". The step by step details had been worked out in our minds and we knew just what was "supposed" to happen. Then one day we are driving along and— Oops!—a detour sign. Hey, that's not supposed to be there! I "have" to go that way! I "need" to go that way!
Have you prayed and asked God to "take control"? Have you asked Him to take over the "driver's seat"—to guide and direct you? And yet too often when we are faced with an unexpected "detour sign" we see it as a barrier to overcome—an annoying roadblock causing our plans to go off track! Then God asks us—"Have you ever considered that I may have said No?" Our minds want to say "Well, sure—I know that." But honestly in many situations of everyday life we do not considered that. Oh, the big things, sure, we expected His direction then. But the small daily decisions and relationship issues; why bother?
When things didn't go according to "plan"—well—we didn't even think God cared about those tiny little details. God does care about everything—when we ask Him to guide us—He will guide us in all areas of life. We need to learn with each situation that a rejection or a disappointment or a simple “no” may be His "detour sign" of protecting us from a hazardous road ahead.
You know the good thing about detour signs is that in most cases there are signs very nearby that will point out the good road. These signs will continue—every so often—as we travel through the detour route until we are returned to the original route we were following. Sometimes they seem longer than necessary and at times another road may seem to be a better choice, but one thing is certain if we follow the signs we will get to the road we are to be on. Turning off on a side road may get us there and it may be shorter but, what did we miss along the way? Did we run into more road work—more difficulties?
We so often say, "If only God would give me a sign." He probably has we just were too caught up in the "planned" route that we never saw it as we went speeding by. They say "Stop and smell the roses." I suggest that we stop and read the signs along life's road—expecting our God who has promised to lead us and show us the right paths—to do just that!
Have you prayed and asked God to "take control"? Have you asked Him to take over the "driver's seat"—to guide and direct you? And yet too often when we are faced with an unexpected "detour sign" we see it as a barrier to overcome—an annoying roadblock causing our plans to go off track! Then God asks us—"Have you ever considered that I may have said No?" Our minds want to say "Well, sure—I know that." But honestly in many situations of everyday life we do not considered that. Oh, the big things, sure, we expected His direction then. But the small daily decisions and relationship issues; why bother?
When things didn't go according to "plan"—well—we didn't even think God cared about those tiny little details. God does care about everything—when we ask Him to guide us—He will guide us in all areas of life. We need to learn with each situation that a rejection or a disappointment or a simple “no” may be His "detour sign" of protecting us from a hazardous road ahead.
You know the good thing about detour signs is that in most cases there are signs very nearby that will point out the good road. These signs will continue—every so often—as we travel through the detour route until we are returned to the original route we were following. Sometimes they seem longer than necessary and at times another road may seem to be a better choice, but one thing is certain if we follow the signs we will get to the road we are to be on. Turning off on a side road may get us there and it may be shorter but, what did we miss along the way? Did we run into more road work—more difficulties?
We so often say, "If only God would give me a sign." He probably has we just were too caught up in the "planned" route that we never saw it as we went speeding by. They say "Stop and smell the roses." I suggest that we stop and read the signs along life's road—expecting our God who has promised to lead us and show us the right paths—to do just that!
No comments:
Post a Comment