Have you ever driven, so lost in thought, and then suddenly when you looked up you didn’t remember where you had been and the terrain looked unfamiliar?  This has happened to me a time or two in life and I’m sure it has for you as well.

After a hard fall in a store yesterday and thinking I was alright, I made my way out of the store, but was turned around for just a moment.  I walked in a circle once and then made my way out of the door.  The fall disoriented me for a few moments.  I should have listened to the ladies who helped me up and not been so prideful and embarrassed at the fall and sit for a moment to orient myself and gain my composure.

I gave this some thought later and likened it to our spiritual lives.  How do any of us know where we are going without the road map?  How do we know if we are right spiritually if the map is not read?  Do we listen to others or do we listen and read God’s design to get from this life to eternal life?  Do we place our trust in Him or relatives or friends to give us the directions to heaven?  It is true we need those who are able to teach us truth, just as the Ethiopian eunuch in the book of Acts.

Don’t let pride get in the way of reading the correct road map, God’s Word.  Get the proper instructions for leading you to heaven.  As the saying goes:  “When all else fails, read the directions.”

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard.  And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14)

“And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?” (Acts 8:30)

Little Naomi was trying to dress herself.  After a long period she said, “Mother will you help me?  I guess you’ll have to button my dress.  The buttons are behind me and I’m in front.”

Quite a predicament!

This amusing little story is a big enlightenment on many failures in all endeavors of life.  Doing things backward.  Going at it the wrong way.  Misdirected effort.  It tells us much.

Reminds me of the man who went deer hunting.  He followed the deer tracks for a whole day before he discovered that he was following them backwards.

Movement, activity, is not enough.  Even the backslider is moving – down.

No matter how fast you’re going, if it’s in the opposite direction you’re not making progress.

Regardless of how hard you try, if it’s the wrong way to do it you’re not going to succeed.

“We have seen individuals, businesses, and churches go backward and not forward.  In most cases the reason was not so much a lack of effort as it was poor counsels and vain imaginations.  In the majority of instances enough energy was expended to succeed, if it had been channeled into productive areas.  Half the way is to know the way.”

~ Leroy Brownlow

“Read the Bible; it is your road map through life.”      ~ George Foreman

 Eileen Light