Million Dollar Highway

About this time last year we went on a short trip into southwestern Colorado.  We drove to Ouray and took the most direct route, meaning that we traveled over the section of road known as The Million Dollar Highway.

The Million Dollar Highway is a beautiful bit of road, running between Silverton and Ouray.  Spectacular mountain views are around every corner.  And there are very many corners as the road winds through the mountains, although the driver of the car should attend to the road, and not the views.  The road is set in the mountains, and in many places it appears to be barely clinging to them.  And it clings to the mountains without the benefit of guardrails.  The Million Dollar Highway is not for the faint of heart.

A veteran Colorado driver told me it's really no big deal.  "After all, the highway is the same width as any other two-lane road."  While that may be the case, most other two-lane roads don't appear to be just a very few feet away from imminent disaster.  Going off the edge of this particular highway will result with near certainty in a car falling a very long ways down the mountainside. 

When I drove it the width of the road was not the problem.  What raised my blood pressure was the absence of guardrails and the apparent nearness of catastrophe with the slightest error in steering.

Going through life can have some things in common with the Million Dollar Highway.  The path can appear narrow, with danger at each turn.  And not a guard rail in sight. 

And while there may not appear to be any guard rails in life, I believe that the Christian can turn to God's word in the Bible, and find that God provides protection, again and again.  By learning, trusting, and relying on God's word we are better able to stay in the proper lane of life and much less likely to stray into danger.  It is like driving down the road and seeing the rail in our peripheral vision, reminding us of the proper spacing between safety and danger. 

Psalm 119 is an excellent example of this.  Again and again to it teaches us the value of God's word. 

Verses 4-5: "You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! " 

Verse 15: "I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways."

Verses 65-66: "You have dealt well with your servant, O Lord, according to your word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments."

These are but a few of the examples found in Psalm 119, a song of devotion to the power and care of God, given to his people through His word.  May you find safety and security each day in the guidance and promises of God's word.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.