THE ROAD BLOCKS WE FACE
Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
Highway 96 was especially dark that November evening in 1965. The heavy mist that was falling made visibility terrible for the driver of the car driving down highway 96 in Randolph County. Without warning there appeared a large form in the road directly in the path of the vehicle. There was no way to stop or avoid hitting the deer that attempted to cross the road. But with the impact another trophy buck was killed by a vehicle.
This buck wasn't just one more statistic, no, he was one of the largest framed whitetails ever seen. Even now, over 50 years latter, the "Illinois Road Kill Buck" stands as one of the most impressive looking bucks of all time. With 29 and 31 inch main beams and a 31 inch spread this amazing buck is truly impressive.
However, as awesome as this buck is my focus today is on the accident that it caused and not on the animal. In Genesis 37-44 we learn about Joseph's road blocks in life.
Joseph was sold by his brothers, rescued by strangers, admired by authorities, deceived by a liar, befriended by a jailer, restored by God and later reunited with his family. His story would likely have been different if he had not come across a road block. God handles our road blocks in different ways... generally not the ways we would choose.
Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us that God's ways are not always our ways, but they are the right way...
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Without a doubt we will have hit things in the path of our lives that bring us to a sudden stop. We might be going along in life, successful and happy and something will get in the way... we might even hit something that does damage to our life, like that big buck did to the car on hwy 96.... But we can always rest assured that if we trust God and listen to His leading, we will find the way, over, under, around or through the road blocks in life.
There is one other option, when we've come to the road blocks of life that many of us need to realize. Many of us need to understand that there are times when we need to completely stop and wait for God to do what He has plans to do. Psalm 46:10 tells us to...
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
There are these times where God wants our complete trust that He has control and He desires for us to just "be still" and wait on Him. This takes a lot more trust for those that have been raised in a world where we're expected to go out and make something of our lives. But nothing comes without God allowing it.
The next time you hit a road block in life... turn to God and wait on Him, He'll move the roadblock or He'll move you.
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