I Was Wrong

Has your mom or dad ever had to turn around on a main road? “Oh, no! We missed our turn-off,” they might say. Or, “I don’t think this is the right road. We need to turn around.” But making a U-turn isn’t very easy. Usually there’s no place to stop, and busy traffic blocks your way. You might have to pull over onto the shoulder or another road before there is a chance to turn around. Finally the way is clear to get over on the other side, heading in the right direction.

Turning around isn’t easy, but it is an important part of life. There are many times we find ourselves going in the wrong direction. Maybe we’re in trouble because we disobeyed. Or it’s just been a bad day and we feel grouchy. Maybe we’ve made a mistake or said something unkind without thinking, and it seems like no one likes us. How can we get turned around?

The first thing is to realize when we’re going the wrong way. Usually we like to blame someone or something else for our troubles. We think, “If they would just be nice to me, I would be fine,” or “It wasn’t my fault.” We think that other people need to turn around, or that things will get better if we just keep going. But if we act like that, we won’t ever get back on the right track.

Not many people have the courage to say, “I’m sorry. I was wrong.” It is much easier to keep going with our bad attitude. It is very hard to slow down, stop the complaining and excuses, and to get going in the right direction again. We need God’s help to see that we are wrong and to admit it. Often we need to “pull off the road” and pray before we can be sorry enough to make a U-turn.

When people have been going in the wrong direction a long time, it is very hard for them to turn around. They get lost and forget what road they are supposed to be going on. “I guess it doesn’t matter how I live,” they say. “I’ve tried my best, and I can’t do better.” Some even think God has put up “No U-turn” signs. But God paved a highway to heaven and He wants all of us to be traveling on it. When we are lost or have missed the on-ramp, He wants to help us get back on track. “Return unto Me,” He calls to those that are in trouble. He is able to help you make a U-turn, no matter how far you have traveled or how dark a tunnel you are in.

Here is a verse to hide in your heart:

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”* (Isaiah 55:7)