Caution: Deer Ahead

While curving through the back roads of Fayetteville, Georgia, I have experienced many interesting “road blocks.” Today, it seemed as though almost all of them occurred at one instance of time.

These roads rarely span a straight distance, but rather curve side to side, up and down and all around. Speeding may result in a car trapped in the swamp area on one side or slammed against an unforeseen telephone pole on the other. Plus, while people reside directly off of these roads, many locals use them in lieu of the highway; it’s more of a straight shot. On top of that, many bikers ride these hills for their calorie-burning potential. Problems arise when these bikers ride in a “no passing zone” (nearly all of the road, it seems).

On my way home from taxiing my dad, I drove through the roads carefully, as always. Up ahead, I see a biker. 

No big deal, I think to myself. I’ll pass after the next car.

The next car passes, and so do I. I continue ahead, and look! There’s another biker, but this time she rides in a “no passing zone.” I could probably pass, but I would risk entering an accident, so I wait. Then comes a series of hills and turns. Finally, I reach a straight enough portion of the road to pass.  I think I’m past all of the distraction.

Lo and behold, here’s a crazy deer that is running in zig-zags. Now, one cannot take deer lightly in the back roads of Georgia. In an instant, a head-on collision may occur, totaling the car and possibly injuring the driver--and the deer, for sure. I slow down significantly, looking for other deer and glance in my rear view mirror.

Much to my surprise, there is a long trail of cars that has also slowed and watches me for hints as to whether the deer has left. As odd as this may seem, a thought popped into my head:

All of my life, I have known myself to be the leader in a group of people; it’s my natural tendency. As a leader, God calls me to help navigate others through the various distractions that may possibly hinder the group. However, leaders cannot take this responsibility lightly. Any lapse of time without extreme discretion will cause a collision not only for me, but for all of the trailing cars behind me, and it will cause much pain.

Unfortunately, many leaders become very concerned with the group’s progress and lose discretion. They believe the group should continue at full speed even in the presence of a deer. God, however, knows that leading His people takes time. Remember Moses in the desert? It took the Israelites 40 years to overcome the road block of ungratefulness and rebellion.

God cares more about learning in the journey than simply attaining the end result. Take Philip, for example. In Acts 8:26-40, God tells him to head from Jerusalem toward Gaza. On the way, the Holy Spirit has him minister to and baptize a eunuch in the middle of the desert. What a total God appointment! By the end of the story, Philip doesn’t even end up in Gaza, but in Azotus, and the story ends. If God cared only about the destination, He would not have stopped Philip here, but He had higher plans.

Although this may prove extremely difficult, we must give our lives to Christ in complete trust that “His ways our higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Only then can we follow His lead--even in the presence of a deer.