Road Signs on the Path of Life

Psalm 16: 11 "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

One day as I was driving home, I started thinking about the many signs I saw along the highway. Some were green with information such as the names of roads or towns. Some were yellow and had various cautions written on them. There were even some fluorescent orange signs warning of things that needed my immediate attention. That started me thinking about signs the Lord gives us in the Bible that tell us how to plan our journey through this life. The Bible is like an atlas….it has all the information in it to direct us from this life here on earth to our final destination of Heaven.

A few weeks ago my husband and I were traveling over some roads that we hadn't been on in quite some time. We came to a sign that read….DETOUR: ROAD CLOSED. We stopped and read the sign but then kept on going because my husband could see in the distance that a new bridge had been built. He thought that the road was fixed but that the signs had just not been removed yet. So we drove on down the road a good piece. As we rounded a curve we were surprised to see a big blockade across the road saying ROAD CLOSED. My goodness! The sign had been telling the truth all the time! We had wasted time and gas by going this far and now had to turn around and go back. I thought about how many times we as Christians come to a place in our lives where the Lord puts a roadblock in the path of something we have planned. So often we go around the sign only to find we have wasted time and energy when our plans fail and we have to turn around and come back. When God puts a roadblock in our life, it is always for a reason and always for our good.

Another sign I saw was one that read SLOW: DANGEROUS INTERSECTION. How many people do you see that actually slow down by these intersections? Most just read the sign and keep on going. And how many of us do the same thing with the warnings we read in God's Word? There are so very many warnings given us ….especially in the Proverbs. We are warned, "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." Proverbs 1: 10 That can be a very dangerous intersection if we let ourselves be influenced by wicked people. Many a good testimony has been destroyed because of wanting to be like the world instead of the Lord. There are many warning signs in the Bible that need to be taken seriously and not just glanced at as we speed on by down the path of life.

Here in the South, one of the road signs that must be taken seriously is the one that reads CAUTION: BRIDGE MAY ICE OVER IN COLD WEATHER. When we get cold weather and drizzle in the wintertime, sometimes only the bridges get cold enough to ice over. The ice will catch you off-guard if you're just driving down the road and not watching for it. As Christians we sometimes let our hearts get cold and ice over. We may get hurt by a fellow Christian or maybe get bitter over something that has happened to us. We need to read the CAUTION sign and be very careful. If not, we may make a wreck of our lives because of the icy condition of our heart. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4: 23

I am as guilty as the next person of not paying enough attention to either the actual road signs I see every day or the Biblical road signs God gives us on the Path of Life. I want to take them both more seriously in the future for I know they are only there for my benefit. This verse from Psalms would be a good motto for me to remember…."Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119: 105

May God bless you as you travel the Path of Life!

Marilyn