Opposing Traffic

Road signs interest me.
So often the signs we are used to seeing will have additional instructions.
I saw one such sign the other day.

My son and I were taking some back roads to our destination.
He was driving and I was able to take in all the scenery.
We were on a pretty, tree-lined street and were approaching a stop sign.
We were driving slightly downhill.

On our right was a small cul-de-sac with a stop sign.
As we stopped at our stop sign, I noticed the words.
OPPOSING TRAFFIC DOES NOT STOP.

How odd.
I had never seen a sign like that before.
Sure enough, the cars coming uphill were able to drive through, while we had to stop.
It intrigued me.
Then I realized the truth of that sign.

If you think of the word Christian, you think of belonging to the Lord Jesus.
You remember that you bear His name.
If we were really honest, when we think of Christian, we should think of suffering.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. (Romans 8:17)

Opposing traffic does not stop.
How very true.

Those who oppose the cross of Christ will do anything in their power to distract us.
They will keep us busy putting out brush fires instead of fanning the flames of our faith.
They will focus our thoughts and our energy on unimportant things that waste our time.
They will cause us to ask the age-old question from the Garden: DID GOD REALLY SAY…?

Opposing traffic does not stop until it has successfully turned our eyes away from Jesus.
The opposition wants to wear us down, so we begin to wonder, Is the fight really worth it?

William Wilberforce fought tirelessly to abolish slavery in England.
For almost fifty years, from the time he became a Christian until the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 was passed, he battled for righteousness.
The act was passed three days before he died.

Some people will see the fruit of their labor while others never see the outcome.
The battle is not about results as much as it is about faithfulness to the cause of Christ.
The results are in God’s Hands alone.

Nehemiah heard that the wall around Jerusalem had been destroyed.
He knew he had to act.
After much prayer and guidance from the Lord, he set out to rebuild the wall.

His ingenuity brought unlikely people together for a common purpose.
People that never would have worked alongside each other, now worked together.
There was much opposition along the way.

When Sanballat (the governor of Samaria) heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said,”What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble, burned as they are?” (Nehemiah 4:1,2)

Opposition continued.
The people were getting weary.
Nehemiah had to remind the people of the importance of their work.

“Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” (Nehemiah 4:14)

So the wall was completed…in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. (Nehemiah 6:15,16)

Opposing traffic does not stop!
There will always be opposition to God’s work.
But we must remember it is God’s work.

Remember the road I was on when I saw the sign?
We had a stop sign as we were traveling downhill.
Opposing traffic had no stop sign, but they were traveling uphill.

Coincidental?
I don’t think so.

Opposition to God is always an uphill battle!
It may seem as if the opposition has it easy.
Appearances are deceiving!

God puts those stop signs along the way to slow us down.
If it were smooth sailing, we would take all the credit.
We would want all the glory.

Stop signs are good checks and balances for us.
Time to reassess. Time to pray. Time to seek His face.
We get frustrated when we have to stop.
Let’s not forget that to be stopped is GRACE!

Opposing traffic does not stop!
Opposing traffic will one day careen off the road.

Remember the tortoise and the hare?
Slow and steady wins the race.
I’ll be a tortoise for God any day!

Thank you, Father for the stop signs You put in my path. Thank You for the grace to stop me before I careen off the road in arrogance and self assurance. Thank You that Your stop signs humble me. The battle is Yours! The Glory is Yours!