By David ReayMonday 15 Nov 2021LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’ (NLT)
Our lives are full of choices. Our lives are punctuated by crossroads. At such times, we can be a bit like that quote by Woody Allen, “Human beings stand at the crossroads. Down one road is despair, down the other is annihilation. Let us hope we choose the right path.”
Bringing our good God into the picture spares us from such hopelessness. But it does not spare us from making what might be hard decisions. Making what might be a good and wise choice may lead to hardship, causing us to doubt the wisdom of our choice. But choosing to walk down a particular path after prayerful reflection and a desire to go God’s way is not the same as choosing the easy road.
The American poet, Robert Frost, wrote of two roads diverging in a wood. He chose the one less travelled and it made all the difference. Sometimes we feel impelled to walk down an unexpected and less travelled road. It may be a life situation change. It may be the road Jesus suggested: a narrow road that is not the common or popular way.
Any choice we make has the potential to shape and reshape our lives. Jeremiah urged his people to make the right choice, but they refused. The old, godly way was not what they wanted and so not what they chose. And they suffered severe consequences. The road they chose led to exile and desolation.
Crossroads matter because each road leads us somewhere. And so our choices matter.
Blessings,
David