Traffic lights bring order to millions of roads around the world with its three distinct colors. A green light lets us know that it is safe to proceed ahead. A yellow light serves as a caution for us to slow down and prepare to stop. And of course, a red light tells us to come to a complete stop to avoid causing an accident. I like the analogy of traffic lights as it relates to our pursuit of greater purity and wholeness.
A Green Light
These are the days when everything is going well and I feel like all is under control. There isn’t much to worry about on these days because the road ahead is clear and trouble free.
A Yellow Light
These are the days when disappointments come and things don’t go according to my plan. I feel like I’m losing control of my situation and I begin to feel frustrated. I then allow these frustrations to affect my emotions. If I’m not careful, my emotions can lead me down a path of ungodly and dishonoring thoughts and actions.
A Red Light
These are the days when I ignore the yellow light altogether and I go full speed ahead, causing me to crash and burn. The yellow light should’ve slowed me down; instead, I recklessly pushed forward, blindly hoping for the best. There may have been an instance or two when I ran a red light and sped through an intersection without causing an accident. However, I can’t keep ignoring yellow lights and running red lights without eventually being involved in an accident.
In my own life, I have come to recognize the signs that represent my yellow light: being so busy that I feel like I have no time for spiritual refreshment, feeling that everything is out of control, getting easily frustrated, etc. These serve as my warning signs to slow down and to proceed ahead with caution. I am continuing to learn that giving in to false emotions and unhealthy frustrations does not give me the license to dishonor my commitment to God, my wife and others. I now recognize that when these yellow lights “flash”, I have to slow down and prepare to stop. So I take the time to refresh myself spiritually. I process my emotions and feelings through the truth of God’s Word. I talk to the people in my life whom I trust and can be honest and vulnerable with.
I encourage you to identify the yellow lights in your life. Learn to recognize them and then slow down and prepare to stop. Take the time to refresh and strengthen yourself in Christ, walking alongside fellow believers, and then you can continue on in your journey to greater purity and wholeness.
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