God's Rumble Strips
- Jeevan Babu Olesu
"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it." - Isaiah 30:21
Since watching Mindy drive here in America, I have had a lot of questions. A few she knows the answer to, but many we are looking up together. The first time I asked her what happened when I felt the car vibrating with a loud sound as we got close to a stop sign. She told me it was a warning that there was a stop sign ahead and they remind drivers to prepare to stop. Later, I
asked her is what are those rough patches on either side of the road that make a loud sound when you drive on them? She knew their purpose and explained they were there to alert drivers that they were drifting off of the road. She explained when drivers get sleepy or are not paying close attention, if they drive on that part of the road, the sound will alert them to pay attention again and correct the position of the car. She told me sometimes when she was driving late at night they had helped save her, too. She would get sleepy and her eyes would start to close, and the sound and vibration would instantly alert her. Then she could turn up the music or turn on the air conditioner to full blast to force herself awake. I then asked her what they were called and she said she didn’t know, but she called her father (a retired police officer) to ask. He said they were called rumble strips.
God uses little things to speak to me. These rumble strips He has used to revel to me how they are so similar to His Word. Rumble strips are like a warning. They let us know when we start going the wrong way, or that we need to slow down or stop. The Bible says in Isaiah 30:21, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” God’s Word is our rumble strip for our life. Jesus said, “He who has ears, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15). Only those who have ears to hear His voice will hear His warning. God, our loving Father, wants us to go the right way. He wants to lead us in the best way. When we are doing something wrong, He uses His Word and His Spirit to correct us. Then we can correct our course and continue to follow
The Bible says not to love the world. It explains that when we are lovers of the world, we are enemies of God (James 4:4). But still many of us want to follow the world. That means we begin leaving the path God wants us to walk. When we do that, we can feel the rumblings of His Spirit that we are going the wrong way. The Bible is filled with rumble strips to show us when we are departing from the path He has given us. Commands like “love your enemies” are written to show us how God wants us to interact and relate with others. However, how often we struggle and do not want to follow His commands. Yet, when we ignore His commands, there are rumblings in our heart to let us know that we are veering off His path and onto our own. In Proverbs 4:25-27 the Bible says, “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” Here the Bible is comparing our lives to a path that we are following. God wants to keep us on the correct path. Let’s listen to His voice and the rumblings He places inside of us to help us move straight ahead and to “keep our foot from evil.”
Finally, rumble strips can alert us to an intersection ahead. Many times we like to make plans for the future ourselves. When we are approaching a decision, we need to listen to the rumblings God places in our heart to slow down and seek Him. Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” We need to spend time in His Word to learn His path and spend time in prayer seeking Him for the best decision. He is the One who can keep us on the right path. Let us seek His path.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You so very much for speaking to us even through little things. Whenever we are doing wrong, Your Word is there to correct us through Your Spirit. Please give us ears to hear You. Help us hear the rumble strips that You give us to let us know when we are veering off of Your path. In Jesus name, Amen.
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