It looks safe. It’s the kind of ice you can’t see. Then the tires begin to slide just a little. Instinctively, you apply the brakes but that doesn't stop you. You turn the steering wheel but that doesn’t help. A sudden feeling of helplessness makes your heart beat faster. There are cars in front of you, behind you, coming toward you in the other lane, and an embankment on the side of the road. You try to remember all the safe driving tips you have learned. Just tap the brakes. Steer into the slide. Then, thankfully, because you were travelling slowly, the car stops. Others have seen your situation and they have slowed even more so they can stop. You are thankful that you were listening to the radio with the announcer regularly reporting the icy conditions and warning against the invisible danger on the road.
Slowly you ease your car once again into the flow of traffic and continue on your way with even more caution, thankful you remembered the actions to take.
Sound familiar? Has it happened to you? It has to me….on more than one occasion.
Not only has that happened on the ice but it has in my life. When I’m not paying close enough attention to the conditions around me, I take for granted that nothing will happen. I am in control. Then I begin to slide...just a little. What do I do?
At times like this I am reminded of the words of the prophet in Jeremiah 10:23, “I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.” and Solomon’s words in Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25, “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”
Think about that ice again. What if you were going just a little too fast to make the needed corrections? That happened so some. I saw a car turned over down an embankment.
Think about your Spiritual life. Are you travelling with enough caution to recognize dangers? Can you draw on what you have learned to make the necessary corrections? Are you listening to the One who is warning of the unseen dangers that can cause us to begin sliding?
Jesus says, “Come unto me….take my yoke upon you and learn of me.” Jesus says, “I am the way…” His Way teaches us to be cautious in life because Satan is trying to make things as slippery as he can. And he tries to make it so you can’t see it until it’s too late.
Interesting what a little ice can make you think about, isn’t it?
See you when the saints meet, Lord willing.
Love, Tony
Weekly words of encouragement, devotional thoughts or calls to action from God's word by Tony Lalli. These posts can also be found in print weekly in the Dewey Church of Christ bulletin.
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