Encouragement for Today - Oct. 3, 2008

October 3, 2008

Exit Numbers

Marybeth Whalen

“But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”

Job 23:10 (NIV)

Devotion:

Have you ever driven on a long road trip, with the responsibility of getting from point A to point B falling squarely on you? It can be a bit overwhelming if you are not used to it. When you anticipate the many highways and unfamiliar cities you will pass through, you think it will take a miracle to get you there! I have always admired people who have driven long distances to unfamiliar places, but never thought I could do it myself.

I recently had the opportunity to travel from my home in North Carolina to my sister’s home in Florida. It took nine hours to get there, with many roads to travel during those nine hours. As I looked at the directions I had printed off from the computer, a plan of action formed in my mind. I quickly circled all the exit numbers for each point on the trip. When I got to a new highway, I simply noted what exit we were on, and then gauged how far we had to go based on the exit numbers. By focusing on those numbers, I was always able to take the right way. In the end, what had overwhelmed me became quite simple because I had my exit numbers as my guide!

God has provided us with exit numbers in our lives. He has provided us with His Word as a map for how to find our way. He has promised in His Word that He will provide us with a way out when we face temptation. He has given us the Holy Spirit to whisper directions to us when we feel lost, confused or panicked. He has written these exit numbers on our hearts. The challenge for us is to focus on them and not get sidetracked or overwhelmed by the cars speeding past us, the neon signs flashing at us, or the scenery that can divert us from the right way.

We all have these elements in our life - each one taking a form that is unique to us but no less devastating in its potential. Satan loves to taunt us with these, waving them in front of us and telling us how hopeless our situation is. He wants to destroy us, to cut us off from the Father. He wants us to stop focusing on those exit numbers so we will lose track of where we are on our journey with God.

Have you lost sight of the exit numbers because other stuff has distracted your attention? Do you need to go back through your directions and mentally place a big red circle around those things that keep you on the road He has for you?

Maybe today you feel like you have pulled off to the shoulder of that road and all the other cars are just whizzing past you. Everyone else seems to be intent on where they are going and how they are going to get there. But you just feel lost and hopeless. Do you need someone to come along and help you accelerate back into the flow of traffic? Just for today, I invite you to pray and ask God to help you get where you are going. I challenge you to listen for the Holy Spirit to speak to you - to open up God’s Word and let it guide you. The exit numbers are all there. And, with God’s help, you will get where you are going.

Dear Lord, I need Your help to make it where I am going. I confess that sometimes I don’t even know where I am going and get overwhelmed by the distance it is going to take to get me there. Yet I know that You have provided me with the Way to get there. Help me to trust in that. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Related Resources:

Do You Know Him?

He Speaks to Me by Priscilla Shirer

Visit Marybeth Whalen’s blog

For the Write Reason General Editor Marybeth Whalen

Application Steps: 

Spend some time today doing a word search in your Bible concordance on words like “way,” “road” or “path.” Choose one or two verses that minister to you and write them down somewhere visible in your home or car.

Call a friend who can help you find your way on the road to where you need to be.

Reflections: 

Reread the last paragraph of this devotion – which of those questions do you really need to ask yourself today?

If you are not in a place of needing “exit numbers” to find your way, perhaps God is laying someone on your heart who needs you to be that friend who helps them get back on the road. Who could that be in your life?

Power Verses:

Job 23:11, “My feet have closely followed His steps; I have kept to His way without turning aside.” (NIV)

Isaiah 48:17, “This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” (NIV)

John 14:6, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (NIV)

© 2008 by Marybeth Whalen. All rights reserved.

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