I had forgotten something at my office the other night and
didn’t realize it until 9:30 pm. I asked my daughter living across the street
if she wanted to go with me. She agreed and I even let her drive my car. I
don’t see well at night, so it was a big help!
As she pushed the start button and then looked at the gear
knob, she stopped for a moment. “This car is backwards! You should have to pull
it down to go backwards and push it up to go forwards.” We laughed about it as
we pulled out of my driveway.
This morning I was thinking about how the drive of faith can
be a lot like the gears in a car. Sometimes it seems we are going backwards
when we’re really going forward. A change in gears is often seen as a setback
or a wrong direction. We don’t like change. We don’t want to change gears,
change houses, change directions or change our plans. We’re creatures of
familiarity. We like feeling at home, settling in and remaining for the long
haul.
But just like buying a new car and having to learn the
nuances of it, we too must keep our faith fresh and new. We must say yes to God
no matter where He puts us. We must drive away into the unknown, sometimes
without knowing where we’re heading, and trust Him to teach us how to go there.
We can sit and fumble with the direction of our life, just like my daughter
fumbled with the gear shift, or we can say “Lord, teach me”. We can’t keep
driving the new direction with our old plan for it will not work in the same
way. We must leave behind what we loved in order to find His best for us.
God speaks to our hearts: You’ve been driving in the same
direction and it’s been good. You know the ropes, you know the plans, you know
the talk. But you are now faced with an entirely new plan. I know you’re unsure
of the new because you were so familiar with the old – comfortable, good at it
and willing to stay the course no matter what. But I AM taking you out of your
comfort zone and into a new thing. No one took your plans away because I AM in
charge of your life – every single detail. So even if it looks like you have
been left stranded on the side of the road without a vehicle to drive forward,
you have Me. Even if the change was unexpected, unwarranted or unbelievable, I
AM guiding you. And I will put you on firm footing and get you right where I
want you. You may feel like you’ve been set back, put in reverse or sitting
idle, but as you look at Me instead of the circumstances you will see that I AM
the one who is driving you forward and keeping you right in the center of my
will. No thought of man, no scheme of flesh, no plan of the enemy can get you
off course as you let Me steer you into new horizons and over new ground. It may seem uncomfortable at first, but when
you see where I am taking you, you will love it for it is My will that over
rides any gear you feel stuck in.
Oh beloved, stop stripping gears over changed plans! God is
with you, God is Sovereign and God has His plan for you! Get in gear with the
Lord and ride on with Him! It’s a tailor made journey, with all the right
gears, the right vehicle and the right mode. You can trust Him because He loves
you and He’s for you – no matter what– He is with you all the days of your
life.
Genesis 19:16 When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized
his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety
outside the city, for the LORD was merciful.
Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will
you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in
the desert. (Amplified)
Psalm 33:11 But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; His intentions can never be shaken.
Ephesians 1:11 Furthermore, because we are united with
Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance,
and He makes everything work out according to His plan.
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