Stay On the Path and Accomplish Your Task!

Why we need to pay attention to the directions and road signs God shows us

Years ago, in my late teens, I spent a day driving up to the mountains with friends to check out the snow. 

Myself and two buddies set out, and after a short drive, we came to the first turn-off into a snow play area. These friends of mine thought that this parking area looked boring and wanted to continue going further up the mountain.

At this point, we were pretty high up in elevation, and there was a lot of snow on the ground.  The roads had been plowed, and my buddy drove a big, off-road vehicle. So, we felt confident.

After another bit of driving, we reached the end of the road.   A sign and a gate were showing that the road was closed.  The road was not plowed beyond that point, and the snow was over waist height.

I assumed this was where we would turn around. But, boy, was I wrong.  My friends felt confident in the capabilities of the Jeep we were in.  The snow was high enough that we were able to drive right over the gate that was blocking the road.

I did my best to speak up without looking like a “chicken.” But they said we would be fine and kept on driving.  We drove for a few miles into deeper and deeper snow. Eventually, we ended up on the opposite side of the mountain, now going downhill. 

The snow got so deep and soft that regardless of the Jeep we were in, it grabbed ahold of the tires and pulled us into a ditch on the side of the road.

After trying for a few hours to get the jeep out of the ditch, we realized we had to leave it and hike out.  Once we made it to the top of the mountain, we got cell service and were able to call for help.

 Several more hours and more than a few phone calls to parents, sheriffs, and forest rangers… we were picked up by snowmobile and transported back to the end of the plowed road.  Eventually, we got ahold of someone who owned a snow grooming tractor, and we had to pay him a large sum of money to drive up the road and tow out the jeep.

What should have been a short day spent in the mountains and grabbing some lunch turned into an all-day ordeal.  I don’t think I got home until the middle of the night, and let’s just say my parents were not pleased.

Do you know what we should have done?

We should have paid attention to the signs and stayed on the path that was set out for us.  We should never have ignored the warnings. 

What turned out to be one bad day and a kind of funny story really could have ended up so much worse.

The lesson that we should have stayed on the proper path is just as true for our lives as believers.

In this week's message, Pastor Ben taught us that we have a task that has been given to us by God.  Our heavenly Father created us for a reason, and it is a privilege to live out that purpose.

But part of our task is taking time to communicate with God about what He wants us to do.  As God guides us and sets us on the path He has set for us, we must do the work to stay on it.

Many things in life will try to distract us from the work that God has for us.  It is our job to learn to lean on Him and stay strong in the purpose that He’s called us to.

Remember, friend; God created you on purpose because He has work for you to do.

Ephesians 2:10- For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Dr. Suess once said, “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is you-er than you.”

Your Father in heaven created you to be you.  Don’t let anything distract you from being the person God wants you to be.

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