Paradise, Desire, Panic?

On my way to work every day, I pass this sign pointing to three very interestingly named local towns: Paradise, Desire, and Panic.

As I drove past yesterday, I noticed that they are in a very unique order, they are all two miles apart, and you take the same direction to get to each. It got me thinking about how easily we can be fooled by the devil's schemes.

Lately, the idea of wolves in sheep's clothing has been heavy on my mind. All over our society, I see people, hobbies, recreation, and media that all are designed to draw us away from Christ and our purpose in Him. But these things don't come to us as obviously sinful. They come as things that look innocent or even helpful, and before we know it, we are snared.

If you follow the road sign above, you will see that the first place that is promised is Paradise. Satan loves to lure us with the idea that what we are about to do or receive is good. He masks it under the guise of "this will bring you fulfillment". And for a couple of miles, it seems as if we've found Paradise.

Then there is Desire - we begin to desire things that are not in God's will. Again, this isn't obviously against God. It's usually something very innocent, but after some time it engulfs us and we start to care more about the desire for the world instead of the desire for God. We seek human accolades or fleshly desires rather than the Lord.

If we continue down this road, we will eventually encounter Panic. Here is where we realize that we have strayed away, and we feel entrapped, unable to get out of the mess we've put ourselves in. We wonder how we could have ever strayed so far away.

The beautiful thing about our Lord is that, even if we travel the six miles down this road, we can make a u-turn, and He is right there. We don't have to travel the six miles back, but simply turn around, and He will guide us down a road to redemption that we didn't even know was there. Jesus will travel that road with us and pull us off the road we put ourselves on.

Let me offer some advice, though. Don't make the turn down the road to begin with. There is only one way to avoid being tricked into making that turn, and that is by studying the Word and knowing your Lord's voice. He will guide you on the right paths and keep your way safe, but you have to know Him to follow Him. Don't be fooled by the devil's schemes. Just because something looks like Paradise doesn't mean that it is.

Hold tightly to your Lord and Savior and let Him guide your steps.

Psalm 32:8: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you."

Psalm 37:23-24: "The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand."