Roadblocks

   Last weekend as we were coming home from a outing, we came upon a roadblock where policemen had closed the highway.  They were checking for driver’s licenses, proof of insurance, current tags, and looking for impaired drivers.  We passed through without incident, but Emma and Luke were a little shaken by the experience.  They were worried we had done something wrong.

   God puts up roadblocks for us, too.  When we start down a path that He doesn’t intend for us to tread, He often will speak to us through the Holy Spirit and gently remind us that we need to go another way.  Sometimes His roadblocks are just temporary setbacks that put us in the right place at the right time, delaying us from being in the way of danger. Other times, He sets up a checkpoint to refresh our relationship with Him through His word and through conviction of sins.

   Proverbs 16:9 says, “The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord shows him what to do."  God knows the best way for us to go.  Sometimes His ways don’t make perfect sense to us, but they get us to the place where He wants us to be—near to His heart.

   The best roadblock God has given us stops us from taking the path away from Heaven.  Jesus is God’s way of stopping us from going the wrong way altogether.  Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Though life may throw up obstacles along the journey, there is one clear path to our Father—the loving arms of Jesus lead the way.