Follow the Signs | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Follow the Signs | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ellen Carr
11/23/22
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES

“Beep, Grandma, beep!” called my little grandson from the back seat of the car. We were stopped at the traffic lights, behind another car, waiting for a green arrow so we could turn right.

“No, I won't beep! Why would I beep? I only beep the horn when there's danger, or for something really important. We just have to wait for the green arrow to tell us we can turn right. Watch for the red arrow to turn green,” I told him.

To my three year-old grandson it seemed obvious. You beep to show you want to get a move on. I'm not sure where he learnt that! I wonder which impatient adult driver he had seen doing that.

Waiting for traffic lights isn't always easy. When you want to turn a corner you need the green arrow to give the go-ahead. Impatience doesn't help. There's nothing you can do but wait.

And perhaps it's a bit like that in life. Sometimes we want to turn a corner, to get onto a new road and start along a different path. But God hasn't given us the go-ahead. He wants us to wait for his traffic signal, his arrow.

If you're anything like me you probably have an impatient streak, a desire to be shown the way ahead just when you you think the time is right. We don't like having to wait. But sometimes God wants us to wait. We need to wait till he makes the way clear with his 'traffic arrow'.

Sometimes, when we are driving, the road ahead is closed and we need to take a detour. We have to follow the arrows to find our way to our destination. Sometimes God takes us on a detour instead of the way we think we should go and we need to go the way he directs us. It might take longer than the straight-ahead route, but God will have his reasons. He may have other things to teach us on the way, or other people he wants us to minister to.

The Bible tells us that we can rely on God to show us which way to go. Psalm 32:4 (ESV) says,
'I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.'
And Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) says,
'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.'

Of course there are times when we orchestrate our detours ourselves. God might be pointing us straight ahead into something new but we hold back. We choose not to follow his arrow and we deviate from his his plan for us. That's when we need to look for his arrows guiding us back to his path. Perhaps that will be through reading God's word, or through another Christian's counsel. Maybe he will shut a door on our deviation and point us back to his chosen way. But we have to choose to follow his arrows.
As Jesus said in John 8:12 (ESV),
'…... I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
He wants us to know the way to go. He will show us.

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY
SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY FOR THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.