Road Work Ahead

O

k, I’ll admit it. I lost my cool the other day as I was driving around running errands. On no less than four occasions I encountered that little annoying orange sign which reads, “Road Work Ahead.” Is it just me or does anyone else believe the transportation department strategically places those “little signs” in order to cause the maximum amount of frustration possible? To top it all, every time I come across a construction site, no one is ever there working! Why erect a sign advertising work if there is no work taking place?

Do you feel my frustration yet? I know this seems like a small thing—and it is—but I really get bent out of shape when I am forced to take a detour just to go around the block! It wouldn’t be quite so bad if the construction were completed in a reasonable amount of time. But the signs remain in place for weeks or months on end with very little if any visible progress. For those of you working for the transportation department, please accept my apologies for getting so worked up. There is a great lesson in all this as we will now see.

OK, my little tirade is over and all the frustration is out of my system. While sitting at one of the intersections currently under construction, I had time to sit and think about the process of repairing or building road. It is quite fascinating, especially if you really observe all that goes into the laying of pavement. The ground must be prepared by bulldozing all the obstacles out of the way, by leveling the soil, and by preparing the shape the road will take. Next the workers build a form to hold the necessary components required to build a road and give it shape. They introduce gravel, steel bars, an extremely thick portion of concrete, and then they add asphalt on top. When all these steps are completed and the surface is painted, the road is open for business and cars travel back and forth, easily riding on the smooth surface that months of back-breaking work has produced.

As I sat there thinking about this, a very popular verse from the prophet Isaiah came to mind. It is one simple sentence carrying a wonderful promise about the coming of the Messiah. It also indicates that a lot of road work needed to occur before Israel was ready to receive him. The prophet writes these words in Isaiah 40:4 “Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth.’

You want to talk about road work!! God had so much to do in order to prepare the people for the coming of His messiah. Mountains had to be bulldozed, winding roads had to be straightened, valleys had to be filled-in, and all the rough, washboard roads had to be smoothed out. The process was ongoing. Year after year, generation after generation, and century after century it seemed the work would never be completed. At times, God seemed to be on vacation, not working as the countless years dragged on but God was working. He was on the job every day, working in and through the lives of His people until the coming of a man named John the Baptist. It was he who had the wonderful job of proclaiming the road was open and he did it with these words found in John 1:23 "I am "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD.”  Finally, the time for construction was over and the road was open for business.

Today, we continue to walk this road started so many years ago. At times, God still puts up road work signs, making us wait or take detours. At other times it appears as if He is not working, that He has abandoned us and left us stranded. But rest assured and know that our God is always working. The times when you can’t see His hand, it’s probably a good indication he is doing work on your foundation, making sure you are ready to bear up under the rest of the journey as you continue your daily walk along life’s road.

The next time you see a sign labeled “Road Work Ahead” keep your cool. Use it as a wonderful reminder that God, in Jesus Christ, prepared the way for your salvation and that from time to time, when He deems it necessary, He closes your personal road to make repairs and do construction so that your walk with Him will be all He wants it be. Are you experiencing road work today?