Proverbs 14:12 (AMP)
¹² There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death.

As I prepared my message this morning I heard the Lord say in my spirit, "Tell my people that they are on an intended journey, and how well they travel, will depend on how closely they follow my instructions." The two passages that we opened with here give us some insights that we will do well to meditate as to their truest meaning within this dissertation today. Everywhere I listen, I hear voices of people speaking with great and swelling words to where they are headed personally; and yet somehow it just doesn't seem believable as I witness their many and often distractions that says otherwise. One thing that I have learned early on as a Christian is that you may make your plans, but they are subject to change in mid-stream without a smidgen of notice. Why? It is because of the many actions we take in the midst of the pressures that visit upon our lives demanding that we choose with haste and without proper counsel.

On any given day there are major decisions that weigh heavily on our shoulders that affect our future and the lives of those around us. These are things too important to not have a clear understanding before we respond to them. Sadly, there is a way that seems right to a man, but at the end; it shall be nothing more than another dead-end street, and in some cases extremely volatile. Even if some should craftily put on the outward garment of laughter to hide the inward storm for a period of time; their heart will remain sorrowful and filled with great heaviness too hard to bear secretly for long. In addition to this thought, you can learn how to cover things up superficially for a spell, but eventually the heart reveals the trouble inside every time. The Bible teaches that there is no rest for the wicked; and after watching the many lives including my own that chose that road in the past, I concur wholeheartedly that never was there a truer statement, especially once I was enlightened by the Holy Christ who now lives in me. However, the irony is that as a believer that we should live anything less than what has been provided to us through the Holy Spirit.

Our Scripture from Joshua that we just read speaks of a period of time before Christ where one had to keep his distance from the Ark of the Covenant less he perish. Too close while in an unholy condition meant instant death before the holiness of God. Therefore, one had to remain at a distance for he was not permitted to an up-close encounter with God because he was a sinner. It was much harder to see things as they were, simply because of this distance to which separated them from the Lord. However, no matter the difficulty, if one would follow the Lord's instructions attentively: even in these conditions of distance, he could clearly see the correct route to which he should take; and it promises to be a road never traveled down before simply because that road is a path of holiness. Man had always missed that pathway on his own. Therefore, complete adherence to the Word of the Lord was necessary for a safe passage through the turmoil of life that lay beyond the detection of the natural eye. There are many today that declare that they know their way perfectly, yet sadly they shall collapse under the weight of their own boastings of self-preservation. Again, the Word of God tells us that there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death.

Our text shall now move to a certain situation in the Bible that has become familiar to all of us at some point, and which targets the main emphasis of this teaching. What is that you might ask? The moment of proud ambition within the believer that seeks his or her own way in life; that they are willing to neglect the soundness of God's voice when He says to follow His instructions for life. Let us now read our story that involves one of the Patriarchs of the New Testament church: the apostle Paul.

Acts 27:13-15 (MSG)
¹³ When a gentle southerly breeze came up, they weighed anchor, thinking it would be smooth sailing.
¹⁴ But they were no sooner out to sea than a gale-force wind, the infamous nor'easter, struck.
¹⁵ They lost all control of the ship. It was a cork in the storm.

I have discovered that we make most of our greatest blunders when life is good and where the skies look to be fair weathered. And it does not matter if the Lord has specifically said prepare for something of significance so as not to suffer personal loss; yet it seems that the fair skies beg us to disobey! As you read this I believe you will understand the magnitude to which we are touching on. It seems much of the body of Christ today has majored on the self induced efforts of positive assertions in order to make their own way through life in the strength of their own intellect and what they know as being good as they see it. Yet, true faith is a trust to follow the Holy Spirit's lead for our daily lives even when it goes against conventional wisdom. I once heard a man of God say that it was the blessings that tend to harden more hearts than anything else. Oh, I don't mean to imply that God would not want us blessed, for He certainly paid the price for it to be so. However, it's our fallacy that forgets to yield at all times to the Christ who purchased us with His own blood. Therefore, our lives belong to Him and not that of ourselves. But there lays our dilemma isn't it? When things are good we forget Him altogether supposing that we have earned this, and therefore start trusting in ourselves to make a go at this thing called life without Him. Look at this scene we have before us just previous to this passage above.

Acts 27:10-12 (MSG)
¹⁰ And Paul said, "I see only disaster ahead for cargo and ship-to say nothing of our lives!-if we put out to sea now."
¹¹ But it was not the best harbor for staying the winter. Phoenix, a few miles further on, was more suitable.
¹² The centurion set Paul's warning aside and let the ship captain and the ship owner talk him into trying for the next harbor.     

This is the usual trend in humans as they tend to listen to men who claim to be experts in their self-acclaimed predictions rather than on the Word of the Lord. The place these voyagers were at was not suitable, or rather they were not content to be in that place. This is another reason we become anxious and want something different than what we have at present, and it can be quiet a strong persuader to act outside of God's direct command when we think we are missing out on something better. Why is it that we seem to think the grass is always greener on the other side? Again, I must point out that there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death. Whenever, we leave the shoreline of solid ground and head out to the deep waters of the sea, we eventually reach a place of great vulnerability as all land disappears from our sight. It is here that we most often realize that we have made a real blunder by ignoring God's Word when the terrential storm arises in our life. No confidence presently in us now! Why? Because we ignored our divine "Helper." As long as land was in sight we knew we could always swim to safety on our own which enabled us to boast in ourselves; but when that land becomes no where in sight and the torrential storms prey upon us without mercy, it is here that fear has the tendency to grip our hearts the most. I believe if we don't trust Him with the good times and noting that He is the reason for them, we will panic in the difficult times and fail to exhibit faith in His provision to help us.

The Word teaches us over in 1 John 2:20 that, "we have an unction from the Holy One, and we know all things." I don't believe that this is just a blanket Scripture that does not require our immediate attendance to His voice. We must tune-in to what the Holy Spirit is saying and adhere to His instructions always. Too often we manage to base our decisions on the lazy and uneventful appearances of the present moment, rather than on the instruction of the Lord that sees up ahead of us. We most generally opt for the daily south winds, unlimited margaritas, sandy beaches, and lots of sun. We fall for those lazy mild days that lure us into a vacation mindset, rather than staying alert to that inner voice of the Holy Ghost that says, watch and pray! Beware when it seems right to do wrong. We have an adversary that preys on our insatiable first choice of self-provision over God's contributions to guide us with His supply. Why is it generally that man only wants God in His life when things have risen above his ability to control or remedy the situation? I believe it has everything to do with pride and rebellion. Our mandate from God irregardless of how much you believe in the grace of God message, does not exempt you from the responsibility to live in the new man and develop those characteristics. This has nothing to do with works in order to be righteous either, but rather it is a righteousness working in us to produce the perfect man or woman that we are!

Acts 27:20-24 (MSG)
²⁰ It had been many days since we had seen either sun or stars. Wind and waves were battering us unmercifully, and we lost all hope of rescue.
²¹ With our appetite for both food and life long gone, Paul took his place in our midst and said, "Friends, you really should have listened to me back in Crete. We could have avoided all this trouble and trial.
²² But there's no need to dwell on that now. From now on, things are looking up! I can assure you that there'll not be a single drowning among us, although I can't say as much for the ship-the ship itself is doomed.
²³ "Last night God's angel stood at my side, an angel of this God I serve,
²⁴ saying to me, 'Don't give up, Paul. You're going to stand before Caesar yet-and everyone sailing with you is also going to make it.'

When things get their darkest is when we become the most susceptible to hopelessness. Notice that our professional voyagers in this story have succumbed to the idea that they would perish without rescue. I recall how the Lord spoke to me that everyone is on a journey, and then He added that we are not always on the right boat due to our neglect of His Word which brings about many storms in our lives. Remember Jonah? Then He went on to explain that there will be times that we will in fact be in the right boat and headed in the right direction, but the adversary will mount up a storm of confusion in order to get us to second guess if we heard the Lord correctly. When it feels that our life is on the line we easily start to back peddling as though we made a mistake. Remember when the Lord told His disciples to go to the other side and later on Jesus was found to be in the back of the boat sleeping when a great storm arose? This revelation caught my attention as I thought of how Jesus said He would never leave or forsake us; but even so, He expected us to speak to the storms of life now that we had the Holy Spirit resident in us. As you can see by these few references of possible boats that we could be sailing upon the seas of life, none are exempt from storms; including the one Jesus has you on.

We are told that in this world we will have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world! Don't you just love it when a man of God stands up in the middle of your storm that he previously warned you about but you ignored his advice, and then he says something like, "Friends, you should have listened to me!" Fact is, God is always giving us guidance but we often are not paying attention to it. What I recognized in this passage to be instructional is that it says they could have been spared the trouble and the trial to which they had come upon (vs.21). Thank God, even when things are not looking so good He can turn it all around because of the one's who have placed their trust in Him. Therefore, anytime there is found to be a holy man or woman of God in the midst of a trial there is favor from their divine "Protector" for all who may be on board.     

Psalms 107:23-30 (KJV)
²³ They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
²⁴ These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
²⁵ For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
²⁶ They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
²⁷ They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
²⁸ Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
²⁹ He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
³⁰ Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

Isaiah 30:21 (KJV)
²¹ And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.