Warning...Narrow Road Ahead!


 Barricade the road that goes Nowhere; grace me with your clear revelation. 
   I choose the true road to Somewhere, I post your road signs at every curve and corner.  I grasp and cling to whatever you tell me; God, don't let me down! 
   I'll run the course you lay out for me if you'll just show me how.
(Psalm 119:29-32 The Message)

All of us would absolutely relish a sign like the one above - clearly telling us in no uncertain terms that the way we are considering is the WRONG way!  Instead, we find ourselves at a sign that looks something like this:
There are truly two choices to be made.  One leads us down a path that may result in good stuff for our lives - the other is not so promising.  The truth is, if we'd look a little closer to the "signs" we are seeing, reading, and hearing, we'd realize that some are better than others.  The fact is, some seem to entrap us - leaving us in what appears to be "no outlet" for escape.  Others seem to provide wide open spaces, allowing us to sail right along.

David had no real "road signs" to follow in his day.  Yet, he speaks of "signs" that will help in his "decision moments".  He clearly recognizes that some choices lead to a destination he calls "Nowhere".  His choice is to end up "Somewhere"!  Not a bad choice, eh?  The hope we have comes in learning to "read" the signs God provides.  David says he grasps and clings to whatever direction God gives - using it to run the course laid out for his life.

We often need to "post" these signs so that others can know the right path.  It is in the discovery of the path by those who have gone before us that we often find the best "way-finders".  I have hiked trails and taken roads that are not clearly marked out.  The results vary from getting to my destination unscathed, to flat tires, bruised limbs, and scraped knees.  Those trails that have been "blazed" ahead of me - clearly marked out - are often the ones I choose.  But...and here's the big truth...I don't ALWAYS choose those paths!

There is an element of inconsistency in all of us.  We decide one thing one day and a totally different thing the next.  This is human nature.  The "human nature" component is what David is referring to here - he had come to the place of recognizing that the path God lays out is not always the wide-open space that allows us to sail right on through.  In fact, this is probably the sign that David had come to appreciate the most:
In the daily choices we make, the fact is that God places us in ever-increasing places (circumstances) that "narrow" our choices.  Why?  Simply put...he wants us to walk the "narrow" road!  It is not in the smooth sailing that we learn to trust - it is in the hairpin turns, the narrow places, that we truly begin to trust the "signs" he posts.

Don't know what road you are on today, but if you find it is narrowing down a bit, you are probably on the path God has designed for a specific destination in your life.  When the road narrows, trust him!  

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