Jeremy L. Berg

“They’re not just for decoration.”  That’s what I tell my beginning drivers as they nervously drive down the road with complete tunnel vision, neglecting to read the signs lining the roadside out of fear of taking their eyes off the car ahead.  All of the signs lining the roads of America are classified according to three types: warning, regulatory and informational. Signs warn us of potential hazards ahead.  They inform us of needed services up the road.  They regulate traffic flow in order to keep everyone safe.  But they only work if people understand their meaning, read them and obey them!  

Likewise, God has given us many laws and signs to ensure us safe travel through the course of life.  They warn us of dead end streets and treacherous curves.  They set protective limits and prohibit reckless living.  They bring safety and blessings if we obey them.  But if we ignore them, we may find ourselves upside down in a ditch— or worse.   Listen to the words of Moses which sound like they could be coming from the State Commissioner of Driver Safety:

Walk in his ways. Keep his commandments, regulations, and rules so that you will live, really live, live exuberantly, blessed by God, your God, in the land you are about to enter and possess.  But I warn you: If you have a change of heart, refuse to listen obediently, and willfully go off to serve and worship other gods, you will most certainly die (Deut 30:16-18). 

Before my students can pass the test to get their license and join other motorists on the busy roads, they must memorize every single sign in the driver’s manual and understand its meaning and significance for driving.  The ancient Jews of Jesus’ day memorized much of the entire Torah — the first five books of the God’s manual for life — in order to faithfully follow God’s Way of holy and healthy living.  Can you imagine how helpful it would be to have God’s messages all memorized so that when life’s road takes us to an unfamiliar place filled with twists and turns we might recognize His signs and find our way safely home?  

So, maybe we should all turn the radio down, stop putting on our make-up, put down the crossword puzzle, silence our cell phones and start reading His signs.  Then we will be able to join the psalmist in declaring, “I’m single-minded in pursuit of you; don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted” (Psalm 119:10 MSG).  

1. Have you ever wondered what the will of God is for a particular situation in your life?  Do you think maybe God has already placed the answer in writing in the Scriptures?  

2. Do you tend to react negatively to rules and laws?  Do you view them as kill-joys designed to take all the fun out of life?  Or, do you understand that they are designed to protect and ensure safety on life’s roads?