Road Signs ... for LIFE?

When Steve and I were traveling this weekend, we saw all kinds of road signs. My favorite was Slide Zone...Caution. Washington just had another slide which covered a road with 30 feet of mud and rock, changed the course of a river, and cut of the residents living in the area. Some of the houses are still in jeopardy because the slide is still moving...weeks after the initial slide. Hmmmm...do we want to drive this road? We were on the coast and also Tsunami warning signs posted. So if there were a tsunami...we had cliffs on the other side of the ocean...hmmmm.

Anyway, my mind went right to road signs in our daily walk...like:

CURVES AHEAD

Watch out...you are going to hit a curve in your life that will be difficult

Turn back...you are going the wrong way...turn around...this will only cause you pain and suffering

Slippery road ahead...once you start this behavior, you are on a slippery slope and it will be hard to get back up to where you want to be.

How about...Dead End...you are going nowhere and you need to turn around and follow My lead.

There are many signs that we could apply to situations in our lives...

Stop what you are doing...it is not good and will not produce happiness. It will only cause you grief and pain...

Many times, I sometimes feel that my sign looks like this one:

People-- friends, family, the church, coworkers, and a flurry of ads in the media tell us...do this... go here... no, go here...stay away from there....go this way....buy this...don't buy that...vote this way...vote yes...vote no....

And the voices don't help us to make clear decisions. And I went back to my original question. Why isn't there a clear path for us? Why can't I silence the "voices" and just hear a clear voice? Then I remembered a verse in Isaiah...You see, our signs don't have to be confusing or blurred...we need to silence ourselves to hear His voice.

"O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.

How gracious He will be when you cry for help!

As soon as He hears, He will answer you.

Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,

your teachers will be hidden no more;

with your own eyes you will see them."

When we cry for help, the God of the Universe, the Great I AM, Creator, Redeemer, and Savior and Friend will hear you...and He will answer you...

And about those directions...this is my favorite part....because we do not need to be confused

by the signs that are around us....

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left,

your ears will hear a voice behind you saying,

'This is the way; walk in it.'"

We do have a guide. We have someone who will make the road signs clear.

We just need to quiet ourselves before Him and listen to what He is saying.

"This is the way; walk in it!"