Rumble Strips

“But there is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD. [Isaiah 48.22]

Everywhere in the Bible that I think about peace being mentioned, it is associated with good things - it is associated with blessings.

Let's think about suffering for a moment. What is suffering if it is not a tool to disrupt peace? By suffering, I mean sickness, disease, poverty, disasters, and the likes.

Now I know there has been a lot of talk about "peace in the storm." However, I am having an increasing amount of difficulty buying into that idea because the difficulties of life are, by design, meant to disrupt peace.

Here is the best example I can give: here in the USA, highways all over this country have "rumble strips" along the sides to warn drivers when they are in danger of leaving the roadway. Those "rumble strips" are not designed to give peace! They are designed for the very opposite! They are designed to disrupt the lull of mindless driving and alert the driver of impending doom if he leaves the roadway at highway speeds! Rumble strips are not designed to give comfort! That is an absolute silly notion to expect peace in the midst of rumble strips! No! The rumble strips say, "Wake up! Pay attention! Get back on the road!"

So it is with our walk with God! There is peace on the "roadway." However, when we begin to veer off the roadway God has laid our for us, He has designed "rumble strips" - peace removers, if you will, to alert us that disaster is not far away.

Aches, pains, financial stress, sickness, disease, can all be rumble strips in our lives. They do not signify a time to have peace! They signify a time to repent, get back on the road, get rid of pride, wake up out of a slumber, get right with God!

How uninformed it is for us to say, "Sometimes rumble strips mean everything is just fine, but yet, sometimes, maybe, they mean something is wrong." NOOOOOOOOOO! Rumble strips always mean danger is at hand! Rumble strips always require a change of speed or course! Rumble strips always require renewed attention because what we are currently doing is about to change!

We don't need peace in the storm. We need out of the storm! We need deliverance from the storm!

When peace is disrupted - when those "rumble strips" begin to make noise - it is time to take inventory of what we are doing, because it is not right.

Blessings and peace go together because they are good - because God is good.

Curses and turmoil go together because they are bad - because sin is bad. 

Curses and turmoil have nothing to do with good and therefore nothing to do with God (except to repent before Him in return to Him).

It is a very naturalistic and Godless approach to life to say storms come randomly to all. 

It seems to me that every mention of a storm in the Bible is related to punishment.

Father, I could be totally wrong here, but I could also be totally right (not likely, but possible, I suppose). Help me to have a right understanding of the "rumble strips" You have placed around my life to keep me on the right path. Help me to reject every silly notion that "religion" has polluted my mind with. Help me to have a pure understanding of Your goodness.