Black Ice

“Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them!”—Psalm 35:6

Living in a northern climate brings many inherent dangers for drivers—snowstorms, blizzards, wind chill, and the illusive black ice. If you have never lived in a cold climate, black ice may be foreign to you. Black ice is a thin layer of ice, and while not actually black, it is nearly transparent, and almost invisible to the driver, thus eluding detection and endangering the driver and anyone around him or her. It only takes a small patch of black ice to cause a catastrophic wreck. It is best to be avoided, and only skilled winter drivers can navigate black ice successfully and even they need to be on guard.

Pursuing sin is a lot like intentionally driving on black ice. All of those who do are risking their life and the lives of those around them. Pursuing sin is also open rebellion against God, and the Psalmist prays that the paths of all those who do so might be “dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.” He knew that to turn against God invited destruction, and his hope was that all of God’s enemies would slip up and be destroyed. The path of righteousness is a path of light (Proverbs 4:18), while the path of the wicked is “dark and slippery.”

I pray that we may pursue God’s path of life—following His Word so that we might experience the blessing of following Him. We must identify the patches of “black ice” in our lives so that we may learn how to defend against them. And this can only be done by learning God’s Word, identifying the sin to which we are most susceptible, and developing a plan to war against it. And once we do, we will experience the joy and peace of living a life pleasing in the sight of God. May we all do it to God’s glory and our joy. Amen.