Therefore, I was provoked with that generation and said, “They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known My ways.” Hebrews 3:10
The road leading to the subdivision where I live is very narrow and drops off on each side. One day as I was traveling to work, there was a large truck coming from the opposite direction. I moved over to make sure he had plenty of room. Focusing my attention on the large truck, I inadvertently ran off the right side of the road. Not wanting to jerk my truck back onto the road and risk running into the truck, I barely clipped a mailbox that broke my mirror and shattered my right passenger window. Because I ran off the road and went astray, I faced the consequences of an expensive window and mirror repair.
The writer of Hebrews was recounting how the Israelites had lost their focus and had taken their eyes off of God. In their hearts they had “run off the road” and gone astray. They did not trust God; they disobeyed Him, and they went their own way. When we fail to follow God’s ways and commandments, we can expect to have problems. The consequences of sin are always painful and destructive.
Challenge: Have you gone astray from God’s perfect will and direction for your life? Have you provoked God’s anger because of your wayward thoughts and actions? Repent, turn from your evil ways, and follow God’s way in every area of your life.