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"Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
'This is the way, walk in it,'
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left."
(Isaiah 30:21)
When I played basketball in high school, I did the unthinkable. The center grabbed the rebound, tossed me the ball, and I took off... in the opposite direction. To this day, I have no idea why I turned and sprinted toward the opponents' goal. When it dawned on me what I was doing, I simply put my arms in the air and laughed. And so did everyone else! It was hilarious. My buddies on the bench were literally falling out of their seats laughing. Even my coach could not contain himself! But that is not the worst of it. My parents and girlfriend in the stands also saw me in my misguided pursuit of the wrong goal.
I read recently about another wrong way story, or better stated, a wrong destination story. Six Frenchmen hopped on a plane to go and watch their beloved French team play against the Hungarian team in a soccer match. The six men, however, bought plane tickets to Bucharest, Romania, instead of Budapest, Hungary. The two cities are 518 miles apart! They did not realize the error of their ways until they went downtown looking for the stadium. One of the guys confessed, "We have to learn more about Europe."
( Source.)
I am sure the six men heading to Bucharest thought that they were surely heading to Budapest. I know I was convinced, at least for a few moments, that I was heading to the correct goal. Unfortunately, many are heading in the wrong direction, not in a basketball or soccer game, but in the game of life. The stakes are much higher, and there is nothing humorous about heading in the opposite direction that God would have you go. We have the God-given autonomy to choose the wrong path in life, but we do not have the right or power to alter the consequences. Choosing the wrong job, or spouse, or even worse, choosing to not follow Jesus Christ, all have dire results.
In our biblical text for today, Isaiah the prophet tells Israel that God will guide His people as they seek and serve Him. There are times when we must wait on God and then proceed. But there are other times when God is clearly speaking to you and me. We must go in the way He is guiding. To do otherwise is unwise and always ends terribly. Proverbs 14:12 states, "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death."
Choosing the right path is not always the easiest path. In fact, it will prove to be the far more difficult path. But it sure beats the alternative!
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