The determination to continue traveling a road you know is not taking you toward your hoped-for destination will cause you to travel to places you didn’t want to be—meeting challenges and problems you hoped you’d never incur—dealing with consequences you aren’t prepared to endure. The only explanation for continuing such a journey is your refusal to admit you’re going in the wrong direction.
A number of years ago, on a very dark night in the swamps of the Florida Everglades, I found myself in that position. And my stubborn refusal to admit I was wrong could have cost my life as well as the life of a good friend traveling with me.
I shudder remembering the events of that Alligator Alley evening.
We were on our way to an art show in Marco Island the next day with a scheduled stop-over at Darlene’s brother’s house in Naples, Florida for the night. Due to a gas shortage, the lines were long as we made our way through South Florida. I made the decision not to sit in a long line and wait and hoped we’d make it to Naples—what a foolish choice. And somehow in the process, I missed a turn and wound up on a dead-end road which fed us onto Alligator Alley.
Rather than admitting my mistake, turning around and back-tracking, I turned west onto Alligator Alley knowing that road would eventually lead us to Naples. But determination and foolishness flooded my soul when, after driving a few miles on this two-lane highway through the swamp in the utter blackness of night, the engine of my car sputtered and died. We were out of gas—alone and defenseless—on this notorious killer highway that ran through the Glades!
In a nano-second I had a crash course in the fact that attempting to reach a planned destination is never successful when you choose to travel the wrong road. But it was too late. We were stranded. Frightened out of our wits. And my stubborn stupidity had placed us in extreme danger.
Yet all these years later, I listen as the non-stop news blaring the same situation playing out in towns and cities all over America—stubborn, rebellious people, insisting on having their way—in spite of the fact the road they are traveling is dangerous, even lethal, to them and all those they are dragging along this treacherous trip.
Souls full of rebellion are being played the fools by covert enemies determined to destroy them and our nation. Enemies who don’t give a rip about those they’ve convinced their highway to lawlessness is the right road. These enemies of America are emboldened to create chaos and upheaval, by continually stirring the pot of lawless hatred, driving their targeted victims into a huge frenzy of hatred while these foolish victims fail to understand in their refusal to forgive who they perceive to be enemies, they have become the captors of the real, bona-fide transgressors.
And unless God intervenes, all Americans will eventually realize this road to destruction will never intersect with the only road that leads to a righteous destination. America is dooming itself to perish.
Anger, hatred, and lack of forgiveness cripples’ individuals, families, and nations. God warns us throughout His Word that anger and a lack of forgiveness turns into a wretched root of bitterness that soils and spoils everything it touches.
“See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled…” (Hebrews 12:15 NAS).
The defiled quagmire of anger, unforgiveness, hatred, and bitterness, will color your life’s lens and blind your ability to find the true and only road to a righteous destination in the Lord Jesus Christ. But God allows you to choose—His truth or Satan’s lies. God’s peace or Satan’s chaos. God’s love and mercy or Satan’s hatred and destruction. A fulfilled life with Him or an eternity of pain and torture in hell with the father you’ve chosen…the devil.
The days of choice, however, are racing to an end. Never in the history of our nation has there been so clear a daily definition, splayed across the screens, between righteousness and unrighteousness. Many of you have already scoffed and turned away or shrugged and made light of this pivotal moment in history. Storm clouds of darkness deepen and gather to attempt an overthrow of this Republic, like the black swamp of Alligator Alley threatened to consume Darlene and me that awful night so many years ago.
I stared into the heavens that night and cried out to God against whom I’d rebelled. I confessed every sin I’d committed and pleaded for God to please help us.
In the distance headlights of a car approached, then slowed to a stop. A man and woman in the car rolled down the window and asked if we needed help. Darlene threw open her door, raced around the front of our car shouting, “Yes! Yes! We need help! DiAne, get out of the car so they can see we’re helpless girls.”
The man got out, checked, and surmised we’d run out of gas. He said he was a contractor, handed me his business card and said he had gas at his building site and suggested we ride with them to get the gas because it wasn’t safe for two women alone in this swamp. Darlene was already in the car, so I climbed in beside her and prayed we weren’t jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
He asked if we wanted to call our husbands while he filled a gas can. After calling our guys, he and his friend drove us back to the car, filled the tank, and wouldn’t take a dime for their trouble, but followed us back to Naples.
We were beyond thankful, but the impact of this rescue didn’t register until we returned home, and the following day when my husband called to check the phone number on the card and the street address he’d written down. “I called to thank them.” He paused then whispered, “There was no such business. No such phone number.”
“But I was there, honey. I saw it with my own eyes.” My mind raced.
“See what you can find out. I’ve got to work.” He hung up and I grabbed the card and phoned the Better Business Bureau in Naples.
“Not only do we not have a business by that name, but we’ve never had such a business at that address. It’s a vacant warehouse. Been vacant for years.” The lady gave me another number to check and see if there was even such a business by that name in the State of Florida—there was not.
My heart pounded. Were they angels? I had no other explanation. I knew God had answered my prayers for rescue. But since that night I’ve been very careful to travel roads where there’s an easy access to fuel and help should there be an emergency; and I travel life roads where I have access to spiritual food, where brothers and sisters in Christ serve as sounding boards to help me make wiser decisions, and encouragers to help me keep on keeping on.
If America is to survive every citizen must make those same choices. This battle is not about skin color or racism, that’s just an ensnaring ploy. It’s about dividing and conquering. This is about Jesus or Satan—righteousness or unrighteousness—God’s kingdom or the lake of fire… and you must choose…or perhaps you already have.
“Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.
Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:12-23 NAS).
The Word of God gives us information about a time when a man whom God identifies as “the man of lawlessness” will appear and seem to be the answer to the world’s problems. He will come on the scene shortly after the church suddenly vanishes. Then after seven years of rapid and increasing chaos and havoc—judgments foretold in Revelation—the likes of which have never been, this age will end with the physical return of the Lord Jesus Christ and His bride…The Raptured Church.
King Jesus will appear with His armies to kill them by the sword coming out of His mouth. The false prophet and the beast will be cast into the lake of fire. The carnage of the battle will leave soldiers’ blood up to the bridles of the horses and running two hundred miles like a river in the valley of decision. Satan will be bound in chains and thrown into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years.
But the choice is yours. Just consider me the gal holding the warning sign that reads… STOP! DANGER AHEAD!
The road you’re currently traveling, unless God intervenes like He did with me that night on Alligator Alley, is a good indicator where you’ll be in that day. If you don’t know or aren’t sure, let me share with you the ABC’s of settling that question.
Admit you are a sinner. Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23
Believe in your heart Jesus is Lord and He died for your sins. Romans 6:23
Call upon the name of Jesus to receive His gift of salvation. Romans 10:13
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Revelation 3:20-21 NAS).
“For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17 NAS).
You can find DiAne’s complete story about “that” night at Amazon.com in Cecil Murphey and Twila Belk’s book Heavenly Company…Entertaining Angels Unaware
MOVING THE ANCIENT BOUNDARIES 