We were traveling from Wichita, Kansas through Oklahoma to Searcy, Arkansas. I took the first leg and drover to Tulsa. Bob LaPierre took over and I lay down in the back seat to sleep (nope, I wasn't wearing a seatbelt - back in the 70s it still hadn't caught on that much). I was awakened by the sound of Gayla's voice yelling out, "Yeah, we're in Missouri!"
My immediate reaction was, "What? We're not supposed to be in Missouri!" We should have been crossing over into Arkansas, nearing Ft Smith. Instead, we were closing in on Joplin, MO. We had been making great headway, traveling the wrong direction on the Will Rogers Turnpike. It seemed like the right way to my friend Bob and Gayla, but it was anything but.
Our story, of course, is not a terribly unique one. All of us have, at one time or another, have blissfully went along a path thinking we were making progress when we had taken a wrong turn and were digressing along with great speed: the wrong job, the wrong relationship, the wrong opportunity, etc.
The "Wrong Factor" is a part of the human condition: "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death" (Prov 16:25). We have limited vision, which does not include future outcomes. We tend to base future outcomes on past experience but the past, as any good financial guide will tell you, is not a reliable predictor of future outcomes. Sometime we guess right, often not.
Over coming the "Wrong Factor" requires that we place ourselves in the center of the One who can see the future, whose vision is not limited. Our need is to place our lives in the hands of God, seek His will daily and follow faithfully. He may take us through dangerous and scary places but the destination is life. Remember: "I know the plans I have for you. Plans not to harm you but for good. Plans for hope and a future" (Jer 29:11).
You may think you have a handle on life. But, without God, you have a tiger by the tail. And one day, that tiger will turn on you. Let go and let God. Jus' Sayn.
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