As I approached a traffic light a few weeks ago, my three-year old grandson shouted that "Green means Go" and "Red means Stop." I was very impressed and immediately asked him where he had learned this information. He responded with great pride in his voice that his dad had told him this. I then threw out a challenge to him by asking what the yellow light meant. Although he readily admitted to not knowing the meaning of the yellow light, he continued to excitedly talk about what the red and green lights signified.

Sadly, just as my grandson was not aware of the purpose of the yellow light, many individuals do not recognize when GOD shows us a yellow light.  Yellow lights represent caution or warnings and most of the time that some type of change is on the horizon. When we do not embrace what God is showing us in those yellow light moments, our lives can be easily turned upside down by an abrupt hault or "red light."

In Luke, Jesus talks about the importance of "discerning the times." In order to discern the times... in order to recognize upcoming change ... in order to hear God's voice, we must be people of prayer and people who study God's Word. At yellow traffic lights, some people speed up quickly to drive through...others come to a haulting stop and both miss the point. When God shows yellow, it doesn't mean speed up or ABRUPTLY break. It means slow down and listen.

While it is easy to identify the green light faith experiences of our lives when we are "GOING" forward in a deep walk with The Lord, it is more difficult to determine when we are entering the yellow light zone. The cause of this is often a result of the many distractions in life or the gradual process of letting other things draw us away from the place where we should be.

My challenge to you today is to always be aware that while "Red Means Stop" and "Green Means Go" that most importantly, yellow means listen, pray, and heed His voice.  There is something He is trying to show us in these "yellow light" moments.