Signs from God are Just Around the Corner

There are those times when we are poised to make a decision but are not quite sure we are about to do the right thing or royally mess things up.

If only we could know for sure. If only there was some kind of sign.

We were visiting friends who lived a couple of hours away. On the way up, I decided to set the GPS system for a route with no tolls. It was great. We drove through hilly wooded areas, roads lined with majestic horse farms, quaint downtown shopping areas. Staying off the toll highway – the infamous New Jersey Turnpike – significantly reduced PTSD (Post Turnpike Stress Disorder) and added an enjoyable dimension to a long drive.

As we began our drive home, the GPS was sending me a different way. We didn’t take this road, I complained to my wife. Relax, she told me. The GPS knows what it’s doing.

Problem was, I really was distrustful of a tiny screen I plug into the round car electrical outlet formerly known as a cigarette lighter.

Suddenly, I started seeing signs for the Turnpike. This thing is sending us right toward a toll, I said. We checked the device and it was still set for a route with no toll.

Then I was at a crossroad. The GPS was telling me to go right, but to the right was clearly the Turnpike. No, no! I would not be duped by a monotone voice insisting I make a right. So I went left.

“Recalculating.”

The GPS kept trying to get me to turn around. But I was determined (or stubborn depending on whose version you hear). It told me left, I’d go right. “Recalculating.” “Recalculating.” “Recalculating.”

The road I had originally refused to take probably ran parallel to the Turnpike, my wife said. Maybe it did, I said. If only there was a sign so I could be sure.

It seems whenever we have a decision to make or when we are feeling a little spiritually under the weather, we often look for signs from God to give us direction, but can feel frustrated when one does not come along.

However, there are signs are around every corner. We see them every day. The thing is that we need to take some time to really contemplate them.

Speed Limit: “For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit” (John 3:34). Consider the limitless potential God has for us as we do His will.

Yield: “My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver” (Proverbs 8:19). Think about the great abundance that the fruits of the Spirit can yield and the graces of charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity.

Do Not Enter: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to” (Matthew 23:13). We must be careful to not impede anyone on their spiritual path either by our own words or actions.

No Passing Zone: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31). Ponder the idea that all is temporary except the word of God. Ask yourself, why do we cave to materialism so easily?

Right Turn Only: “Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me” (Psalm 31:2). As we ask God to turn us in our hour of need, we must remember to turn to him incessantly.

Stop: “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment” (John 7:24). Suppose all that we see is not as it really is. What if that person you just scowled or looked down your nose at was an angel in disguise?

One Way: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6). Just look at the sign and know.

According to the US Census Bureau, the average commute time to work in the United States is 25.4 minutes. If every time we see a street sign we spend a little time in silent contemplation about what that sign could come to mean, spending as little as thirty seconds with God at a time, imagine how much prayer, how much potential, how much promise that could add up to be.

Oh, and a few weeks later, after my wife had returned from another visit with our faraway friends, she over joyfully told me that she had followed the trail lead by the GPS, and that the road I had refused to take did NOT place her on the Turnpike at all. And it cut the time it took to get home by nearly half an hour. She beamed. Ain’t she a charmer!