Seeing the Warning Sign

ever miss something that's right in front of you...like say, a big yellow sign? i have, it hurts.

i remember riding my bike in claverach park as a kid and running right into the back of a parked car. yep, flew right on top of that thing like a bird with lead in his belly. i don't have any scars...just the painful reminder that i cannot in fact fly.

i was thinking today about the danger of missing what's in front of me as i was trimming the trees in my front yard--which were blocking the stop sign on our street (we live at the end of the street). i was thinking how dangerous it is to blow threw or completely miss the big red (or yellow in the above case) sign.

one of my favorite proverbs is "Sensible people will see trouble coming and avoid it, but an unthinking person will walk right into it and regret it later." (proverbs 22:3) but agreeing with the wisdom of the ages doesn't make anybody smarter. it's applying the words that makes all the difference.

it never ceases to amaze me how many troubles life throws out everyday. it seems like every day greets us with a new set of emotional, physical, financial, mental and moral challenges. and even though it's easy to laugh at a guy who misses the obvious warning sign, sometimes trouble is a little more difficult to see up ahead.

for me, that's where prayer comes in. i really can't see all the trouble up ahead, so i need a friend who can guide my future, a way that leads to continued freedom from the snares that are set for my feet. a really simple prayer i pray--that i learned from andy stanley--is "God, protect me today from the trouble that i cannot see. help me to avoid any trap set against me."