Tight Turns
Tight Turns
If you respond to my warning, then I will pour out my spirit on you and teach you my words. (Prov. 1:23)
Turning From
Have you ever been challenged by the sharp turn of an unexpected curve in the highway? Were you daydreaming or driving a little above the speed limit? Were you on your cell phone or taking a sip of coffee? Was it a close call? Did your reflexes jerk the steering wheel too far? Whatever the circumstances, we’ve all been shocked by the hairpin curves of country highways or the sharp curves that life can throw at us sometimes.
Pete Seeger’s number-one hit song of the 1960s was “Turn, Turn, Turn,” based on the opening verses of Ecclesiastes 3. Turning is a common biblical principle. We usually think of it as turning from something—from sin, from temptation, from selfishness, from idolatry, from laziness. This turning away is what Jesus means when He tells sinners they must repent (see Luke 13:3).
Turning To
We might first think of turning as a turning away from something, but we also need to focus on the positive side of turning. When we turn away from one thing, we’re always turning toward another. So when we turn away from sin (when we repent), we’re also turning toward Jesus. When we turn away from selfishness, we turn and start serving others. God wants us to replace the old way of sin and self with the new way of righteousness and love. This is always a turning away, as well as a turning to.
Bottom Line
See if there’s something you need to turn away from, then concentrate on the positive side of what you’re turning toward.