Change Your Course!

It was a stormy night. The waves were high, the winds fierce and the stars hidden behind angry clouds. Suddenly, from the bridge of his ship, the captain saw lights in front of him in the distance. He immediately had his signalman send a message: “I’m the captain of a large battleship. Change your course ten degrees.”

Back came a reply: “I’m a seaman first class, Sir. You change your course ten degrees.”

“I said I’m a captain. You are a seaman. I order you to change your course ten degrees,” replied the captain.

“I would, Sir, but I’m on a lighthouse and can’t change my course,” came the message from the seaman.

We find some great advice in Proverbs: “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” The path that many travel may “seem right” but it is not right. It may offer many options and choices that appear exciting and require few sacrifices, but ultimately they destroy the soul and lead to death.

The right choice often requires hard work and difficult decisions, self-sacrifice and doing without. They may demand changes in our lifestyle and force us to give up attractive surroundings and pleasurable experiences.
Giving in often requires giving up what matters most in life: living to please God and being blessed by Him.

Prayer: Often in life, Heavenly Father, we know the right thing to do. But knowing what is right and doing it is often difficult. Give us strength, we pray, to “do right.” In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.