A Fine Fine

I was so concerned about the route signs that I wasn’t paying attention to the speed limit signs.

I had been on the road for thirteen hours and lost for the last thirty minutes. Thinking I was finally on the right road to my daughter’s house, I was watching for road signs, knowing I still had to get out of town to find the country road she lives on.

I saw him as I was driving by. Flashing lights were immediate as I got past him and he did a U-turn to follow me. 63 mph in a 45 mph zone!

I pleaded for mercy on a weary traveler as I handed over my license, telling him how lost I was and what road I was looking for. He wasn’t having it! “Sorry ma’am, I have a job to do and I can’t let 18 miles over the limit go. I’ll get you turned around as soon as I come back with the ticket.” (I was still lost!)

So, a ticket but I would get good directions because it turned out I was on the right road headed in the wrong direction. My thinking was like that for the next couple of days.

Annoyed, I kept thinking, “Really, no mercy in this little town! I was so tired and so lost, shouldn’t that policemen have shown me some mercy?

I was still thinking like this three days later. Shouldn’t that officer have shown me mercy because I was already miserable?  Even though I was warned about speed traps the first time I visited this town, and even though I was speeding  (I trust that his radar was right), I didn’t want the ticket.

How often do we react this way with God? Many o f us think that because we suffer we should be rewarded, or at least not disciplined for sin we commit in the midst of our trials even though we have been warned about it. The Lord reminds us repeatedly that He honors faith and obedience, not suffering.

God says we should expect suffering in life (Matthew 10:22). He promises to be with us in it. He says He will be our refuge (Psalm 18:2). He never tells us He will reward suffering or that He will suspend His laws while we go through it.

Though being lost and tired is minor on the scale of human suffering, the lesson was huge for me. I am now grateful I got stopped and turned around. Allowing a problem or situation to so distract me that I forget to pay attention to other necessary things going on around me will bring consequences.

God has warned us, disobedience will bring curses while obedience will bring blessing. (Deuteronomy 11:26-28). In His kindness He will stop us and try to turn us around or send a warning that we are headed in the wrong direction when we  display unfaithfulness or disobedience.

My advice, learned in an expensive lesson from a Georgia policeman, is to watch for the signs and listen for His warnings before you have to suffer the cost of His discipline.

It will take some serious faith for me to remain grateful as I write the check to pay the fine!