Headed the Wrong Way on a One-Way
I’ll never forget the day I was driving full speed ahead—right in the wrong direction—up a ONE WAY. I was distracted, laughing on my cell phone, and I missed my turn to enter the correct ramp. In my own reasoning, I thought I could take a “shortcut.” My mother was sitting in the passenger seat, and before I knew it, I was halfway up an exit ramp—cars were supposed to be coming down, not up.
I remember feeling the shock hit me all at once as I realized what I had done. But even in my carelessness, God’s mercy met me. He gave me the grace, space, and time to back up, turn around, and safely get back into the right flow of traffic.
You see, it should have been obvious I was going the wrong way. The signs were there. The warnings were clear. But I was distracted, confident in my own decision, and not paying attention.
Isn’t that how life can be sometimes? We’re headed in the wrong direction, fully convinced we’re right. We ignore the signs. We justify our choices. And by the time we realize the truth, we’ve already gone too far up the ramp.
Maybe it’s not a literal one-way, but a spiritual, emotional, or relational one.
Maybe you’ve gotten involved in an adulterous affair, believing the lie that he or she was “separated,” so somehow you had a right to them. Maybe you’ve followed a belief system that seemed right because it made sense to your mind, but it wasn’t God’s truth.
The Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”
No matter what lie you’ve believed, God loves you enough to protect you even in your deception. He loves you enough to give you time to make a U-turn. He will reveal the truth if you earnestly ask Him in Jesus’ name. There are no shortcuts to righteousness, and there are no alternate routes to God.
Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
There is only one way, and His name is Jesus.
I think often about that day. Who did God divert to protect me and my mother and me from hurting them? Who forgot their keys and had to go back home? Who took another route that afternoon because heaven’s angels rearranged traffic just to save us? God was working behind the scenes the whole time.
If you have loved ones going the wrong way, don’t stop praying. God is able to deliver them just as He delivered me. What He did on that ramp physically, He can do spiritually for those you love.
Even in relationships, when we finally realize we’re heading the wrong way, God in His mercy allows us time to turn around before we destroy ourselves—or others in our path. A wrong connection can derail a destiny. Generations matter to God. Scripture carefully records, “this one begot that one,” because lineage carries legacy.
Think about Ruth and Boaz. What if Boaz hadn’t discerned Ruth’s worth? What if she had stayed tied to the wrong field or the wrong man? Jesus Himself came from that lineage. One wrong relationship could’ve altered generations.
So if you find yourself heading up the wrong ramp—spiritually, emotionally, or relationally—pause. Seek God. Let Him show you where you are, and give you grace to turn around.
God’s love is not just in the blessings—it’s in the warnings. And His mercy is not just in the rescue—it’s in the chance to turn back before it’s too late.
You may have gone the wrong way, but thank God, there’s still time to make a U-turn.