The Knotted Road
Posted Thu, 02/03/2011 - 1:00am by Dr. Carolyn Tennant
Read Proverbs 3:5-6.
Analysis can be a very helpful process, but sometimes I overdo it and get myself into trouble. I think too much, ponder causes, plan strategies, and just run something into the ground. This tendency was playing itself out to the extreme one day while I was driving to a new destination where I had been scheduled to speak.
To get there, I needed to go through a large city with which I was unfamiliar. Usually, I read maps carefully, plan my course ahead of time, observe the signs, and it is all a snap. I even have a good sense of direction, and I'm definitely not too proud to stop and ask for assistance.
However, to say I got lost on that day would be an understatement. I was truly discomfited. One-way streets, curves, overpasses, and few highway signs got me completely turned around in the city streets. Even asking directions twice didn't help.
My nerves tightened as 45 minutes disappeared, and still I had not found the highway I needed. Although I had given myself extra time for unforeseen emergencies, that buffer zone was dwindling rapidly.
In the distance I finally viewed a road sign. "At last!" I thought. "Now I can get this puzzle put together." As I got closer to the sign, I could scarcely believe the sight. I had somehow gotten on to the right highway, and I was even going the correct direction. Amazing!
Then the Spirit spoke quietly to my heart. He reminded me of the problem I had been pondering during the first hour of my drive. That problem defied solution. The more I tried to work it through and determine its causes, the more confusing it became. For months now, all my attempts at trying to fix the mess just made matters worse.
God prompted me to compare this with the road experience. Could I go back the way I just came? No, that was impossible. I didn't even know where I had been. I could never go over all those twists and turns in the road again, no matter how hard I tried. Nonetheless, I was now on the correct highway. How did that happen?
Suddenly I understood what God wanted to show me. I couldn't go back over the knotted road of this problem, either. There was no way I could figure it out. I couldn't backtrack and redo any of it. However, I WAS somehow on the correct path. What peace.