Wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Proverbs 2:10-11 (NLT)

While driving home the other day, I drove past one of those large construction reader boards placed on the side of the road, warning of upcoming road work. Unfortunately, I noticed it too late and the only part of the scrolling message I caught was "Expect Delays." I didn't know when or where the construction would take place. All I knew was that at some point…I might get stopped.

Wouldn't it be nice if God would erect some of these reader boards on the paths of my life? Shouldn't He have the same courtesy when He's about to start a major road construction project, just to let me know things might not go according to the usual, or fit into my timeline? How is it that when I have my route all mapped out, my GPS is programmed and I am ready to go, I get caught in the middle of the worst traffic jam? Where was my warning sign to "Expect Delays?"

In the times where my path hasn't been the easiest, when all of a sudden I come to the realization God is undertaking another major renovation; I cling to a scripture like Proverbs 2. I do find wisdom and knowledge fill me with joy, and understanding does protect me, especially when out of nowhere, circumstances don't meet my expectations. This verse states that "wise choices will watch over me". Here's my sign!

The more I actively apply God's truths to my life; I can have a greater awareness to what the Master Planner is up to. If I make poor choices, it's guaranteed I am headed for major delays. Some construction projects impossible to avoid; I talked about these in Week 26. For the avoidable road hazards, it is a matter of understanding obedience to basic principles found in His word. God provides us with enough "If/Then" statements, we should know better than to go down a particular path. For example:

"IF you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding … THEN you will find the knowledge of God … THEN you will understand what is right and just and fair – every good path." (Proverbs 2:3, 5, 9 NIV, emphasis mine)

Whether it is in the form of good ol' fashioned common sense, or making a calculated decision to do the right thing, I want this kind of direction in my life and in the lives of my children. Life is hard enough as it is. I want to avoid the major hassles by reading and following the best sign I could ask for – The Bible.