I nodded. In life, we never know what’s coming. But God does. His vision and perception of time is past, present, and future all at once. He knows what I did yesterday, he knows what I’m doing right now, and he knows what I’ll be doing in the future. Knowing this enables me to:

1. Ask him daily to place my feet only on the paths where he would have me be
2. Ask him to warn me through that check in my spirit when I take a wrong step or advance to a dangerous road
3. Ask him (and this is always my special prayer) to “open the doors he wants open, close the doors he wants closed, and keep my hands off the doorknobs.”

That doesn’t mean I run around blindly. My job is to keep my eyes open but it is also to keep my spiritual heart and ears open as well.

Always Keep a Look Out Behind

I heard a car approaching from behind. Keep a look out for what’s coming up behind you…

So true, Lord. Sometimes life has a way of sneaking up on you. The most innocent of things can come back to bite us…um, in the tush. Sin has consequences. It’s forgiven when we run to the Father and plead the blood of the Son, but the consequences can remain.

I was recently talking with a young woman who was bemoaning the fact she was having difficulty getting a job. “I have the credentials,” she said. “I have my interviews, they go well, they say they will be calling me back—they’re sure—and then a few days later I learn I didn’t get the job. It makes no sense.”

I encouraged her to contact one of the jobs she recently been passed up for. “Come right out and ask,” I suggested.

She did. In fact, she called more than one. She called three. Do you know why—straight down the line—she was passed up for the job? Because her potential employers checked out her MySpace.com and other online accounts. There were photos and messages she thought were cute at the time of posting but now thought better of. When she cleared out the online trash, she was almost immediately employed.

Watch for Others Along the Way

As I continued forward, I dipped into a little neighborhood filled with winding roads and shaded by large oaks. It’s my favorite part of the ride, but with the roads curving as they do, I have to keep a watch for who might be ahead of me. As popular as this neighborhood is with bikers, it’s even more so with walkers and runners.

Sometimes those walkers are older. They are…shall we say…strolling. If I don’t stay alert for them, I will either run them over or they will force me onto the spongy grass or into oncoming traffic.