During repair work on a railway track... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, … nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord.
Proverbs 14:12; Isaiah 55:7–8

During repair work on a railway track, a serious accident cost the lives of two workers. At the usual warning signal to indicate a train was coming, they cleared the track on which a freight train was expected to pass, but instead of leaving the track altogether as was the rule, they stayed on a parallel track. Over the noise of the passing freight train, they failed to hear the approach of a high-speed train on the other track and were fatally injured.

This sad event, which left two families in mourning, can serve to illustrate the attitude that many people have about their eternal safety. Just as the workers thought they had kept themselves safe by merely changing tracks, these people may recognise certain dangers and do their best to avoid them. But generally that just means exposing themselves to another danger. These people do no more than move from one dangerous track to another which is no less dangerous. They make an effort to give up this or that vice, and sometimes they succeed in doing so. But this doesn’t necessarily make them safe, at least not forever.

The only safe track leads to the cross of Calvary, where Jesus Christ died for lost people to give them eternal life. A mere “change of track” is not enough!

Today’s reading: Isaiah 11:1-12:6 · Acts 24:10-21