Road rules

The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. We need others who will build into our lives as we build into theirs. A true friend is like a safe harbor providing security and protection. Best of all, a good friend “loves at all times.”

The problem with the talker? Sooner or later, they tell a story they shouldn’t. They take a “just between you and me” and make it headline news. They contradict themselves, leaving people scratching their heads. They exaggerate or embellish the facts. They say some things they regret and many things they can’t remember.

God is not silent about sexual sin. He doesn’t whisper the needed truth. He doesn’t spell out the words to protect our “innocent” ears. In this section of Proverbs, God slams the hammer down with four important warnings. 

The proverb bluntly says, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool.” But when you walk in the wisdom of God and his Word, you will save yourself from some devastating decisions. 

God knew the danger of people pleasing long before Psychology Today. Pleasing people is a no-win proposition that leaves you exhausted, distracted, and wandering far from God’s path.

An unloved child is an undisciplined child. Someone doesn’t care enough to help form the child’s spirit. But our heavenly Father loves us with a love that he initiates, that’s free and guaranteed. God sent Jesus to deliver you from a road of sin that would have destroyed you and separated you from God for eternity.

Tell God all that is on your heart, as one unloads one’s heart, its pleasures and its pain, to a dear friend. Tell him your troubles, that he may comfort you; tell him your joys, that he may sober them; tell him your longings, that he may purify them; tell him your dislikes, that he may help you to conquer them; talk to him of your temptations, that he may shield you from them; show him the wounds of your heart, that he may heal them;

The sermon he preached that day to our church, meeting in a high school auditorium at that time, was not about storms but about the One who gives us confidence in the storm. We don’t have to live in fear—even when the storm comes—the Lord is our confidence. He is all we need. He is all we will ever need. 

The name of the Lord describes his person, character, and works. God—all he is and all he does—is a strong tower. We run to him, embrace him, and cling to him. He provides safety and security. Like a child hanging on to his father, we cling to him, and he upholds us with his powerful right hand (Ps. 63:8).