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Welcome to my world. Traffic here in the Bay Area is a constant consideration in nearly everything we want to do. It becomes part of every decision, every plan, every schedule. I live with it and try to work with it, but I don't like it!
Does your world ever look like this? Do you feel like everything moves too fast? Is it hard to see clearly because of your breakneck pace and all the urgent and instantaneous actions and reactions for which you must always be ready? Does this ever happen to you--just when everything is speeding out of control, inexplicably, traffic comes to a halt, leaving you stuck at a standstill when you desperately need to show up on time?
Now, the emotions that were hovering just below a simmer, bubble up to a full boil and you're in danger of succumbing to road rage! Like those hot-headed people in the news who lose their temper over time pressures and inconsiderate drivers, you find it all too easy to react badly to the stresses of your too-tight schedule. Even with the best of intentions, you can feel caught between cross-purposes, and the constraints of managing the cares of this life.
Sometimes a little planning ahead of time is all it takes to alleviate the pressure, but sometimes even the most disciplined plans can't account for the unforeseen. What do we do then?
How do we avoid a fit of road-rage?
How do we find our way through the obstacles?
How do we navigate when we're being cut off and wedged in and squeezed out?
In my car I am blessed to have 1) a GPS navigation system, 2) the OnStar service, and 3) a hands free phone to help me in a variety of situations. These are extremely helpful tools to keep me on course, and to assist me if I have a problem. It is a great comfort to see a map in front of me and to know that help is just a button away.
Even better than the high tech help I get from my car's cool features, I have a God who ALWAYS hears me when I call. He ALWAYS knows WHERE I AM and WHERE I'M GOING. As cool as my GPS system in my car can be, it occasionally will have a glitch and think I'm somewhere I'm not, hundreds of miles from where I really am--from that point on, all its directions are dead wrong. Not so with God!! The tracking system He has on me never glitches and His directions are always right. He even has ways to straighten the paths that have been made crooked, whether by my own doing or by the designs of the enemy.
"Lead me, O LORD . . .
make straight your way before me."
There is never a need to drive around in crooked tracks, lost and confused . . . never a reason to take vengeance on a co-traveler on the road we're on . . . and never a time when we are without help and hope to guide us home. When we rely on God's leading, He will make our paths straight and make our journey a joy.
How has God shown you His leading and made His way straight before you this week?
