Dead End Signs

“I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” – Isaiah 48:17

Have you ever turned down a street in search of a certain address, only to see the words “Dead End” facing you? These signs announce to us that the road we are on will soon end with no outlet—no place for a car to go except back the way it came in.

A few days ago, I was searching for a particular house and found myself heading toward Dead End signs quite often. At first they frustrated me, but as I thought about it, I realized we should really be grateful for these signs. If the signs were not there, we would discover the dead end ourselves by actually driving to the end of the road—then we would have to drive all the way back. Dead ends might be frustrating, but at least we are warned ahead of time!

Sometimes God gives us “Dead End signs.” We could be expecting to take a particular job, move into a new place, or something as simple as watch a certain movie, when God shows us that this is not the direction He has planned for us. At first, it might be frustrating to learn that we cannot proceed as we had intended. However, we should actually be thankful for His Dead End sign, because it saves us the trouble of finding out firsthand why that path is bad for us. We may never know why God told us to go a different way, yet we can be certain that there was a good reason. We also know that trying to pursue our original plans despite His warning signs will end in emptiness and heartache—which is precisely why God guides us away from those plans.

God does not lead us haphazardly; He leads us away from trouble and into paths of righteousness. Although we might be disappointed to realize that our planned route must change, we can be grateful that God warns us before we actually get to the dead end! Whichever way He leads is for our own benefit. Rather than being frustrated when He tells us to change our course, we can thank Him for His guidance and protection in warning us of trouble ahead.