I took a long weekend to visit one of my best college girlfriends. From my house to hers, it’s about a six-hour drive through Texas. It’s springtime in Texas, so I chose the scenic route, rather than the interstate, and I enjoyed some gorgeous views: green, hilly countrysides, towering pine trees, majestic magnolia trees in full bloom…it was glorious, I tell ya!
But the skies — the skies were fickle. The beginning of my drive was covered in gray clouds, and there was a thick fog, leaving short-range visibility that really slowed me down, not knowing what was ahead. But before long I drove out of that fog, clearing the view although still gray overhead. In the next few minutes, those skies began to pour and once again, visibility was short-sighted. I considered pulling over to a stop at one point, but the rain let up and became a spring shower of steady drops, opening up my view of the road ahead. Then suddenly, the sun popped out, flooding the countryside with brightness, revealing the exact direction of the road ahead. All that occurred during the first hour of my drive, and I’ll tell you…it’s so much easier to drive when you can see where you’re going!!
I drove through such a variance of situations, all governed by the weather around that particular stretch of road. I’ve never driven that winding road before, so I’m not sure what is around every bend. Other than my GPS confirming the route, I had no way of knowing if I was headed in the right direction or not. In a car equipped with low lights, I was equipped to navigate the fog. Of course, when the rains flooded, the windshield wipers provided clarity of what was right in front of me. And a little training and experience kicked in with a knowledge of best practice in each situation.
It made me consider a comparison to life (you probably know where this is going). Life throws situations at us, of which we have no control and over which we have no choice. If you’re like me, you’d never choose the storm of losing a loved one, or the fog of a major illness.
Humanly speaking, I want life to be what I consider “wonderful”— translate EASY!
But we all know a totally easy life is an unrealistic expectation! Just as I drove through a variety of conditions on my trip, life presents a variety of conditions day in and day out. And just as driver’s education teaches us what tools to employ when driving, the Bible presents tools to employ for living life, along with the knowledge of how to use them. The Bible is the perfect resource when life gets stormy. The Word of God is replete with wisdom that clarifies brain fog.
Have you made the Bible your Go-To resource for everyday living? When the storms of life hit, do you plant your face in your hands of anxiety, or do you plant your face in the Word of God?
Here’s a promise straight from the Inventor of LIfe: “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will show you great and mighty things which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)
Honestly, how can we turn down an offer like that?? Promises like that don’t come around every day. Oh wait — that promise DOES come around every day, because it’s a promise from God! Yes, the God who invented life. The God who never changes. The God who is love. The God who is waiting for us to call on him.
Open up His Word. Get a clue from his heart. I wonder what great and mighty thing he has waiting for us today, what clue he would plant in our hearts to equip us for the road we’ll travel tomorrow?