Coming back to Wisconsin after a vacation in Georgia several years ago, my children and I started the climb up the Appalachian Mountains just as an unexpected storm hit. High winds were pushing my van all over the road. It was raining so hard and a mist was rising, reducing visibility to about 20 or 30 feet.
Once you're in those mountains, there is literally nowhere to stop; nowhere to pull off to the side of the road. I just gripped the steering wheel and prayed, asking God to lead the way and keep us safe. When we finally came out of the mountains and were on fairly flat roads, the wind got even worse and it was getting darker. Again, I asked the Lord to direct us to safety.
We came to a truck stop somewhere near the Kentucky state line and stopped. Right after we got there, we were pelted with golf ball sized hail. I prayed again and it seemed the Lord was impressing upon me to stay right where we were. We really wanted to keep going and get home but then we went inside the diner area of the truck stop and saw the weather on the TV. All around us, there were violent storms, producing high winds, flooding, hail and the possibility of tornadoes. The storms were expected to last all night.
There was no hotel anywhere near there, so I asked permission to stay parked under the overhang by the gas pumps for the night to protect the van from the hail. We slept in the van, knowing there was nowhere else to go, hearing the howl of the wind, the deluge of rain and the hail beating down overhead for many hours.
In the morning, we learned that a bridge had been washed out a few miles ahead. If we had kept driving in those conditions, we never would have seen it until it was too late. We would have also driven straight into a line of tornadoes. As we heard reports of all the devastation and loss of life that had taken place during the night, we knew God had led us to the only safe place for over 150 miles in either direction. Although what should have been a 13 hour trip turned into more than double the time, I still praise God for guiding us to that truck stop that night.
God does guide and direct His children and He has given us His Word to teach us which way to go. The reason God gave us His Word, His commandments and His instruction is not to hamper our sense of freedom but to guide us into to truth, safety and His best for us, which results in real freedom.
God has ruled against things like rebellion and adultery is to keep us from harm. All sin is a destructive force that can destroy individual lives and tear families apart. Following God's ways results in real freedom - freedom from sin and freedom to worship and serve Him.
God loves us. He wants to keep us from danger and bring us to a place of blessing. That's why He says...
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye (Psalm 32:8).
The question is, are we listening to His instruction, allowing Him to teach us and following His lead?
Are we listening?
{Daily Selah} is a mini-devotional, a pause to ponder about the Lord and how He wants us to live.
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