My wife and I were headed back home from out of town after picking up a swing set for our boys. The swing set was in 2 good size boxes so I had brought my 16′ trailer to haul them on. As we were headed back we realized that we were in desperate need of gas because the warning light came on. Well we had just passed one of the last exits off of the interstate that I knew had a gas station. I told her I thought there was one on the exit coming up, but I had only gotten off on this exit once before years ago. Seeing as it is dark out this complicated the situation.
So she pulls up the GPS and sure enough there was one there. We eased off the interstate and pulled in to get gas. After fueling up I asked her to pull up the GPS to get me back on the interstate as this exit takes you a little out of the way. Just as she goes to pull it up I see a sign for the interstate. I tell her never mind that I see the sign. We’re talking and I’m driving following the signs. Or at least I thought I was. Did I mention that it was dark? Yeah so there was a sign that seemed to indicate that the interstate was straight ahead, it was not. A path into the woods is what I encountered. I had to back a 16′ trailer up in the dark in an area that I was not familiar with. We get turned around and my wife gets the GPS back on and we find the turn I was supposed to make. Now why did I tell you all of this?
Well you see if we listen to God’s voice, (the GPS, God’s positioning system) He will direct us the way that we should go. If we ever stop listening to the voice and start following the signs we may end up lost. We will at least end up in an area that we don’t need to be. Jesus said in John 10:27 KJV My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. The thing is sheep don’t follow signs, they follow the Shepherd.
The problem with my situation is that I read the sign wrong. We can read signs wrong in our lives. We can easily think because something looks good, that it is for us. If we see a sign that we think is giving us direction, we must pray and ask for guidance. We don’t need to go full steam ahead with no thought as to if it’s from God or not.
Remember the fruit that Adam and Eve ate looked good. Bathsheba looked good. The well watered plains of Sodom looked good. All these lead to problems though. If these individuals would have listened to or sought the voice of God their situations could have turned out differently. Unfortunately they followed what they thought was right. Proverbs 14:12 KJV There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
If we are listening to His voice, the sign is the evidence that you’re headed in the right direction. But if we’re only looking for signs and not listening we can go astray. Please don’t get caught in a trap following your own understanding. Instead seek God for guidance and He will lead you.
Isaiah 30:21 KJV And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.