I am headed somewhere, but where?

We don't always get clear-cut warnings we are about to embark on a journey that will take us down pathways we don't want to explore. I remember exploring some forest roads with my BFF and we went down one only to realize we were going to 'high-center' on a portion because the ruts dug by 4-wheel vehicles had left a pretty gnarly path for us 2-wheel types. I found myself on this narrow road, with only one way out - backwards! I had to back up quite a ways in order to get myself turned around and headed back to a road more easily traveled. We can find ourselves about to 'high-center' in life, too - knowing full-well the only 'way out' is exactly the way we came in and that isn't very easily navigated either!

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)

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 and we actually are receiving 'navigation advice' from God. The fact is, some seemingly plain signs are really meant to entrap us - leaving us in what appears to be "without outlet" for escape. We want God to only provide us with the ones that mark wide open spaces, allowing us to sail right along, but the world offers us some other paths that aren't quite prepared for 'easy sailing'.

Old testament travelers had no real "road signs" to follow in their day - larger than life, lighted, glow in the dark types like we have. Yet, there were "signs" that would help them in choosing the right direction to head on their journey. As with road travel, life's journeys quickly reveal to us that some choices lead to a destination known as "Nowhere". Our choice is to end up "Somewhere"! The hope we have comes in learning to "read" the signs God provides - so we don't just end up "Somewhere", but "Right There". Have we truly learned to pursue whatever direction God gives - using it to run the course laid out for our life?

It is in the discovery of the path by those who have gone before us that we often find the best "way-finders" to help us along our journey. I have hiked trails and taken roads that are not clearly marked out for me, only to find I regretted those 'wrong turns' every time. The results varied anywhere from getting to my destination late but unscathed, fixing flat tires, to even mending a few bruised limbs and scraped knees. Those trails that have been "blazed" ahead of me - clearly marked out - are most often the ones I choose. But...and here's the big truth...I don't ALWAYS choose those paths! I don't think I am alone in this choice!

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 scripture is referring to here - coming 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. 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! Just sayin!