When the Holy Spirit moves in me to stop and turn around, it may be to keep me close to Him and on the right track. Like the one who painted this boundary for a race at the park, He doesn’t want me to take a path leading to nowhere or worse. He has a good plan for me to finish my race, so I must stay to His course.
Temptations can veer me away from God’s will. True, I will meet with temptation along my way, but the fork ahead is clearly marked. I recognize the way He provides for me. Upon close inspection, the wrong way looks something like: STOP. Turn around. If I take the wrong way, it’s not for a lack of options. My Father always provides a direct way to His good plan. If I follow a temptation, if I choose the path of distractions, I step further away from my beautiful, joyful walk with God and His plan.
This was a cold winter. I had options. If it was exercise I was looking for, I could have used a machine indoors. For prayer and meditation I might have sat at home. But I believed that God had invited me to walk with Him in His creation–heat, cold, storms and all, so I kept to the path. And to borrow the words of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” that has made all the difference.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13
Meeting God at the Park 