Fork in the Road (by Cathe Laurie)

“The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again” (Proverbs 24:16 NLT).

Years ago, a group of my cycling friends decided to bike the route of the Tour de France. Climbing Mont Ventoux was to be a 3–4-hour climb to the top and a quick descent down. At the base, the weather was hot and sunny, but as we approached the top, the sky grew ominous and it began to rain.

Concerned by the weather, I decided to begin my descent early. My friend, however, was determined to continue by herself (the rest of the group had turned back earlier or finished before us). At the base of the mountain, we waited and waited . . . but my friend didn’t appear. Over an hour later than expected—right when we were about to send out a search party—she finally arrived!

Turns out, she had hit a fork in the road and had taken the wrong turn. She didn’t realize how lost she was until she was almost all the way down the mountain. Thankfully, she ran into a very nice French family who packed her bike into their car and brought her back to meet us.

It’s amazing how one wrong move can completely derail us.

God’s Roadmap to Good Living

God’s Word gives us a clear roadmap. His warnings about sin aren’t just a glimpse into His character and heart; they’re a navigational system to help us stay on the path that will lead to life and keep us out of harm.

But so often—intentionally or not—we take a wrong turn. We face a fork in the road and choose the wrong path.

Right away, all seems okay. We’re still moving in our original intended direction. But just like my friend as she descended the mountain, we soon find that we are very, very lost.

Suddenly, God’s voice seems distant. Suddenly, we find ourselves in a bad or dangerous place. Suddenly, we hardly recognize ourselves. Suddenly, we forget where we were going in the first place.

And all it took was one wrong turn.

Our First Line of Defense Against Sin

Sin is a slippery slope and can easily trip us up before we realize what’s happening. Our first line of defense is to avoid the wrong turns in the first place: Spend as much time as we possibly can in the Word of God. Study it. Learn from it. Let His roadmap become emblazoned on our hearts and minds. Remind ourselves that every decision matters, and one wrong move can set us back days, weeks, months, or even years.

What to Do When We Do Slip Up

But second, remember that when we do slip up, God’s mercy is like that French family rescuing my friend. No matter how lost we become, no matter how far off the beaten path we wander, He knows exactly where we are and how to get us back to where we’re meant to be. He is never far. He never turns away. He loves you so much that He will leave the 99 to come and find you in the wilderness!

I pray that when you hit that fork in the road, you know exactly where to go. And if you do take a wrong turn, your eyes will be open to see His car pulling up to save you!

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Cathe Laurie is the founder and director of the Virtue women’s ministry. She is also a featured speaker on The Virtue Podcast, at Harvest events, and the author of As I See It. You can find her weekly articles here on harvest.org.