A couple of days ago I was thinking about this blog and what I was going to write. I was driving from Journey Quest to Colorado Springs. As I passed a speed limit sign, it came to me that we are all on roads and all have speed limits. I was thinking deeper and deeper about this blog and the specifics of the analogies. Well, the next day God slapped me in the face. I couldn’t help but laugh when it happened. I was speeding and got pulled over. Yeah, I know, I was being stupid. Long story short, I got a warning. As I pulled away, I realized that God was reinforcing this blog in my own life. So, how do speed limits, speed bumps, and road signs relate to our lives? Let’s explore this together, and hopefully, you will find the humor in my story.
Every road has a speed limit. It’s there for safety. When the agencies set the speed limit, they determine what the safe traveling speed is for each road, and that becomes the speed limit. Now, how does this relate to our lives? Well, God has us all on different roads with different “speed limits.” Sometimes, God has us going slow on a back road in the middle of the mountains. If we go fast, we will miss the beauty God wants us to see. Going slow is okay. When it feels like we are moving slow in life, it’s probably because God wants us to go slow. He wants us to enjoy this time, take in the beauty, and enjoy what He has for us. Other times God has us going fast on freeways. He intends to get us where He needs us quickly. If we take our sweet time getting there, we might miss what God has for us there. These are the times when it feels like we are always busy. Some would say it’s overwhelming. Remember, you have to get off the freeway at some point to arrive at your destination. Don’t go too fast when God has you on a slow road and don’t go too slow when He has you on the freeway.
Now, most roads have signs on them to give us warnings for what’s ahead. These will tell us when the road is turning, when you need to stop for a second, or when there’s a potential hazard. Some roads don’t have these signs. There is this one road I drive that has this turn that seems to appear out of nowhere. It is especially hard to see at night. If I were not paying attention, I would end up off the road. Sometimes God will give us signs and sometimes He just wants us to pay attention. These signs can come from past experiences, things we read, or from our friends and family. They make it a little easier to navigate. When we find ourselves on a back road with little road signs, pay attention. Pay attention because God is taking you on an extraordinary adventure and wants you fully engaged. Pay attention to the road signs and when you don’t see any, get ready for an incredible adventure.
As we travel down our road, we may find ourselves on busy roads with lots of other people, and sometimes we may find ourselves in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes God does that. He does this because He wants your life to be unique. If you stay on the same road with everybody else your entire life, you won’t experience anything special. God wants us to experience Him in different ways and will take us on back roads a lot. Sometimes, these roads will have bumps on them. This may look like a difficult time in your life. If you try and deal with this bump at normal traveling speed, it’s going to be rough. Take these bumps slowly. It may take longer to get over them, but it will deal less damage to you. When you are faced with a bumpy back road, take it slow and know God is taking you to an incredible place.
So, going back to my story. I was trying to go faster than what I needed to. I needed to slow down enjoy the drive. In life, there can be some bad consequences to not going the speed limit. We may not enjoy the scenery if we are going to fast. We may be late if we go too slow on a freeway. If we don’t pay attention to the road, we may end up off the road. Nobody wants to end up off the road accidentally. Sometimes we need to stop for a second and wait for someone. When we end up on those bumpy back roads, take your time. The adventure begins when we start the car. The adventure begins when we choose to follow Jesus.
