Stay Out of the Ditch
Sep 11, 2019 | by Anthony Wade
When I was sixteen years old and had only been driving for about six or seven months, I learned a huge lesson that I will never forget. My hometown in Southwestern Ohio got one of the biggest snow and ice storms that I had ever seen. In fact, it snowed constantly for about three days and after it was done snowing, we got ice. Each time that the snow plow crews got a little snow off of the roads; there was twice as much an hour later. This went on for days. I believe it was the only time in my entire childhood that we got that many snow days off in a row. We missed school for at least a week straight!
Right after we got all of that snow and ice, I got a bright idea. Since I didn’t have school that day and had a small case of cabin fever, I decided that it was a good idea to go get lunch! Now, I have always considered myself to be a good driver, but I learned something that day. It doesn’t matter how well you drive in July, or in the rain, or even in the snow; driving on ice is something totally different… something over which you have NO control. On my way home that day, I got just a little bit loose in how I was steering that car, hit a patch of ice, and spun my car 360-degrees and then some. By the time everything was settled, I found myself facing backwards in a DITCH. Although I learned a big lesson that day about driving on ice, I learned an even bigger lesson about staying out of the ditch.
Here’s the thing that I want you to see today. I want you to notice that every road has two ditches. Why is that significant? Well, because the Word of God is the truth that sets us apart (John 17:17). Any time that you are walking in the truth that God’s Word provides, you are driving safely through life’s journey in the middle of the road. Every truth that we find in the Word, however, can be taken to one extreme or the other, and that is where the ditches come in to play. I’ve seen it time and time again in the Body of Christ. One group of believers finds a truth in the Word that they had never seen before and the veracity of that word from God changes their lives forever. Maybe they find out for the first time that God really DOES supply their needs or His grace really IS sufficient to sustain them in difficult times. Those are great truths, and remember; those truths will keep you on the road. A little misguided steering, though, can soon get you in a ditch. Let me give you an example.
As believers, we know that Jesus died for our sins so that we could be made righteous by His GRACE through our FAITH, right? (Ephesians 2:8) Well, on one hand, you have folks in one ditch saying that since Jesus died for all of humanity, everyone is redeemed whether they like it or not. Those people need to understand that Jesus himself told us that our salvation, while totally by His grace, is dependent on our choice to believe it and receive it (Mark 16:16) and Paul backed that thought up by inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Romans 10:9-10). Then, you have some people in the ditch on the other side of that road/truth. They think that becoming righteous is based on their efforts. They need to understand that our works have nothing to do with our righteousness (Ephesians 2:9) and that once we are in Christ, staying in a position of faith is the only thing that can sustain us (Galatians 3:2-3). This isn’t the only example, though. Loose steering can put you into the ditches on either side of God’s plan for our divine health, His will for our prosperity, and even His instructions on how to deal with difficult circumstances.
There is a happy ending to my story, however. I called my parents to come help me out of that ditch and, like every other time in my life without fail, they were right there to help at a moment’s notice. The good news is that if you find yourself in a ditch right now, you can call on your Heavenly Father and He will show you the way back onto the victorious life’s road through the truth of His Word today!
Today’s Word Study: 2 Timothy 2:15-26