“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21)
My wife's car has a gadget that beeps at you when you drift out of your lane. It gives you a warning that you are no longer on track. It warns you that if you don’t make a correction, you could be in big trouble.
When I was in the Coast Guard, I spent a year on isolated duty in Arctic Alaska. We were part of a communication network that consisted of a master station and three slave stations. Our signals were used by ships and planes for navigation. Our signal had to be kept on the air at a certain frequency. As an electronics watch-stander, I had to monitor some charts and oscilloscopes to be sure that our signal remained accurate and usable. If our signal started to drift too close to the limits, the master station would direct us to make an adjustment. We would make the required correction, and our signal remained usable.
Sometimes in our Christian walk, we may find ourselves drifting out of that narrow way that God has set before us. If we drift out of the Lord’s path, we can experience all sorts of trouble and unpleasantness.
To be honest, we should be alert, we should be watching where we’re going. If we are spending time in God’s word and in prayer, our direction should be clear. And yet, there are those times when we don’t pay attention. At those times, God gives us a warning. "And your ears will hear a word behind you, 'This is the way, walk in it.' whenever you turn to the right or to the left."
The Word of God gives us our direction. The Holy Spirit tells us when we are drifting to the right or to the left. "This is the way, walk in it." We need to listen for His voice. By His strength, by His guidance, we make the necessary corrections so that our lives stay obedient within His way. His great love for us gives us correction, not to punish, but to keep us safe, to keep us in fellowship with Him. Amen.
Pastor Haney.
