When travelling by car, one will come across signs saying, “Danger Ahead!” There may be additional information, such as warnings about falling rocks, wildlife crossing, or construction. While sometimes it is possible to take another route and avoid these dangers, often they are unavoidable. For our own safety we do well to take the warning to heart.

As we travel down the road of life, there are also many stretches that would benefit from having a sign warning us, “Danger Ahead.” This is necessary because the road of life is filled with spiritual dangers. Just like when travelling by car, at times it is possible to avoid dangers. At the same time, often they are unavoidable. Over the course of our life, there are even particularly dangerous stretches.

One such dangerous stretch starts around age eighteen and goes into the early twenties. With a view to being able to navigate this stretch of the road of life without serious accidents, it is good to reflect on why this stretch is so dangerous, and what can be done to avoid spiritual accidents.

Time of Transition⤒🔗

The reason why this is a particularly dangerous stretch on the road of life is that it is a time of transition. It is not unlike a person, having learned to drive in small towns and on two-lane highways, suddenly having to access a freeway. After all, around age eighteen, one enters the stage of being a young adult and is suddenly faced with many new responsibilities. This is the time of life when young people finish high school. At this stage in life’s journey, they either enter the work force or start attending college or university. It is the time of life when suddenly the fences that have been keeping one from danger are taken away and it is expected that one goes on in the same way without the benefit of those fences. Another word for this is maturity. Maturity is doing what you should be doing without having to be told to do so.

Just think of all the protective fences that suddenly fall away around this section on the road of life. There may no longer be the protective fence of family life, with regular meals and bedtimes. There is no longer the protective fence of a Christian school with teachers concerned not only for your academic welfare but also your spiritual welfare. As this is a time in life when many young people profess their faith, it also means that the protective fence of weekly Catechism classes falls away.

All these fences may have been taken for granted. Perhaps they were even seen as nuisance. Yet, it is not so easy when they are all taken down. Young people soon learn this as they face the reality of the workplace. A young person may still live at home but misses out on family mealtime and devotions because they have to leave early and they come home late. The workplace is often very unchristian in language and attitudes. When students continue their education, they discover the schedules of colleges and university are irregular. Some classes start at eight in the morning, others go to ten at night. If students move away from home, there is no one to keep an eye on bedtimes or meals. You are on your own!

With the fences gone, it is soon discovered it can be more challenging than first realized to fully stand on your own two feet in looking after yourself, not the least when it comes to looking after yourself spiritually. With the new busyness of life on the freeway, it easily happens that Bibles are opened only on Sunday in church, and that personal prayer becomes irregular.

Furthermore, with the physical protective fences gone, there is greater temptation to step into forbidden territory, overlooking the fact that the spiritual fences are still there. Remember the earlier definition of maturity, of doing what you should be doing without have to be told to do so.

It was mentioned that this is a section on the road of life that we cannot avoid. Parents cannot shelter their children forever. Rather, godly parents will have made it a goal to prepare their sons and daughters for this segment on the road of life, knowing it is beset with dangers. Parents have had to navigate through it too. It is so dangerous because our three enemies, the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh are ever ready to spring into action. In this respect, it is again like accessing the freeway. It is most dangerous when you are trying to get on, merging into the traffic. Our enemies, bent on our destruction, will do what they can to cause spiritual accidents that may leave scars for the rest of our lives because of sexual indiscretion or experimenting with mind altering drugs. Drinking irresponsibly may damage one’s own life or the lives of others. Even worse, our three enemies will work hard to make us crash spiritually, pulling us away from the riches of the gospel. A high number of spiritual casualties show up among those travelling through this time of transition, breaking profession of faith vows by either leaving the Lord behind altogether or turning their back on the church to turn to groups that do not display the marks of the true church.

Safety Tips←⤒🔗

Since it is impossible to avoid the dangers of the road, it is only responsible to prepare for dealing with those dangers so that you can navigate through them safely. There are a number of things that can be done to deal with the dangers that lie ahead on the road of life.

First, it is important to acknowledge there will be dangers and that it will be a challenge to get past them. It is very dangerous to pretend they don’t exist or that you will travel through them easily. Paul warned the Corinthians not to be overconfident. He wrote, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall” (1 Cor 10:12). The Lord Jesus also gave us this reality check when he taught the sixth petition, “And lead us not into temptation.” Do not be naive. The devil is going around like a roaring lion, intent on devouring God’s people. He knows how to push the right buttons. He knows how to make the ways of the world, with its idea of fun and instant gratification, look appealing. He knows how to play on our hormones, especially in that stage of life when they are raging. And worst of all, there is our own sinful nature, ever eager to regain dominance. It is remarkable how persuasive our sinful nature can be as it pulls us to the way of sin. We have to impress upon ourselves that there is a devil out there, that we live in an evil world, and that we have a sinful nature.

Second, it is important to dress properly for the journey. The nature of the journey means we need a spiritual outfit. Paul used different images. In Ephesians 4:23, 24 and Colossians 3:9, 10 he wrote about putting off the old nature and putting on the new. He spelled out the ways of the old nature as well as the way of the new. In Ephesians 6 he called his readers to put on the whole armour of God so that they might resist the attacks of the devil. Especially at this time of transition, entering adulthood, it is important to do this very conscientiously, deliberately. It is just like when one learns how to drive and has to be very self conscious of how one does everything. In due time, those actions will turn into habits. It is important to learn good habits. This is also true for putting on our new nature, our spiritual armour. There have been many years of teaching about how to put it on. Now is the time to do it on one’s own.

Third, it was pointed out how, at this time of transition, the fences of youth fall away. The reality of life is that it is not possible to maintain all the familiar practices. It is therefore necessary to establish new patterns in response to new situations. If this is not done, the devil will gladly fill the empty spaces. It is spiritually very dangerous to stop regular reading of God’s Word and personal prayer. It requires spiritual self-discipline to establish new devotional patterns. For example, if one has to leave home early, get up early enough not only to grab a bite to eat but to also read God’s Word and pray. It will also be a good time to have a look at the book one may have received at public profession of faith. It does no good tossed on a shelf. Sloppiness, even spiritual laziness, will bear bitter fruits. As we confess in Lord’s Day 45, God will give his grace and Holy Spirit only to those who constantly ask and thank him for his gifts.

This also has to be worked out when one goes off to post-secondary education. Reading and prayer will keep the Lord constantly on our mind. Paul commanded this when he wrote to the Thessalonians to pray continually, in the sense of regularly (1 Thess 5:17). Daniel set an example in this in the way he prayed in the direction of Jerusalem three times a day. In Psalm 119:164 the Psalmist said he praised the LORD seven times a day. If we pray at meals and before going to bed, that is not so hard to do.

Fourth, it is important to maintain the Spirit’s weekly pattern of worship. This means, remember to keep the Sabbath Day holy. The Spirit has made each of us a member of a particular congregation. We have a spiritual home. The minister prepares weekly spiritual meals to feed that particular family. The Sunday is not, in the first place, a time to socialize but to worship. Just as it is important to stay connected with your family, you need to stay connected with your church family.

Travelling Mercies←⤒🔗

I suspect that this article will probably not be read in the first place by those who it seeks to address. It is my hope that parents will encourage their sons and daughters who are in this stage of life’s journey to read this article and that it may serve as a basis for a good discussion. Perhaps it will be a beginning for those heading out on the spiritual freeway to pick up Clarion more often for encouragement and instruction on the adult section of the road of life.

At times one may hear of prayer for travelling mercies, which is a prayer for safety in regular travel. That prayer for travelling mercies is all the more important on the road of life, where the dangers are a matter of eternal life or death. So, I conclude with prayer for travelling mercies for all those at this transition stage of life’s journey. May our heavenly Father safely guide you through all the dangers that lie ahead.