Stop Sign

 

Have you ever driven through a stop sign or a red light? Did you get a ticket? If you didn’t, I’ll bet you were looking around to see if a police officer was going to pull you over. How did you feel if you got a ticket, or, how do you think you would have felt if you had gotten one? You shouldn’t really be angry with the officer because it wasn’t their fault. You might try to blame the road conditions or someone else for distracting you but the bottom line is – it was your fault. You might simply be thankful that you didn’t cause an accident and hurt yourself or someone else.

 

Our municipal leaders put up stop signs or traffic lights in places that could be dangerous for us. If we don’t obey them, sooner or later we will come to harm. We may beat the odds ten times but the eleventh time could bring disaster.

 

God also puts stop signs and red lights in our path. This encompasses more than just the Ten Commandments or other admonitions against sinning. It also involves trying to keep us from bad decisions or other activities that won’t be good for us. This isn’t a mean-spirited act. It’s a supremely loving one from God who only wants the very best for us.

 

Just like we can drive through a stop sign if we don’t see it, we can do things that God is advising us against if we don’t stop to look at what He is trying to tell us. We need to be in communication with Him, through prayer, His word, and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

 

“The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (Ps 121:7-8).