“If you want favor with both God and man, and a reputation for good judgment and common sense, then trust the Lord completely; don’t ever trust yourself. In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 Living Bible)
You can’t count on your fingers and toes all the times you have heard the phrase, “Stay in your lane.” You have heard it way too much. Perhaps you heard it when somebody was meddling when they should have been moving along or maybe someone was entering into a conversation, volunteering knowledge in an area where they lacked expertise. Stay in your lane is popular, but for you and me, believers, it’s really better to say to ourselves and at times to others, “Get in the good lane.”
How did I come up with that conclusion? It really goes back to my prism that I talked about in yesterday’s meditation. (Yes, I had a major typo early yesterday! I typed WTF instead if WFH in one place. Let’s just say I meant, “What the fellowship.” Help me Jesus! Now back to today’s meditation!) Something happened in everyday life last week and it prompted me to activate my prism and think about both a real experience in life and a relevant Christian lesson.
One of my sons helped me drive to Chicago to pick up my wife. The plan was I would drive to the point that preceded entering the heavy traffic zones, the alternate routes loaded with multiple signs, and the portion of highway where there was a presence of seasonal construction that caused traffic to be stop and go for miles. At that point my son, experienced in driving in major cities would take over. That was the plan and we stuck to it. Yet while I was driving, I passed through areas that had orange warning signs that said “Loud Noise” in reference to the sound that would be produced by the tires on the car going round and round on the unfinished pavement. I also passed over some areas where the fast lane was completely finished, but the slower lane, where I was still going 70 mph, but being passed, it was rather bumpy.
This made me think of my early driving days on the highway, taking my father somewhere. I recalled coming to a bumpy portion of road, filled with potholes and metal plates that had been laid down to cover spots on the road that had not yet been attended to by the contracted or county road construction crews. Even back then, when the speed limit was not as fast as today, I was staying in the slow lane; the bumpy lane, my hands gripped tight on the steering wheel, positioned at 10’oclock and 2 o’clock just as I had been taught in Driver’s Education. Tired of the rough ride as I drove over ridges and raised up, heightened, asphalt bumps, my father pointed his finger to the left and said in that parental, authoritative tone, “Get in the good lane.” I of course obeyed and found out that our ride was much, much smoother. That’s the real experience in life that I thought about.
The relevant Christian lesson that penetrated my mind and reinforced a truth was that as we travel through life, we will go down some bumpy roads and we will encounter some rough rides and there will be some construction zones we will pass through for spiritual development. While some travelers will opt to follow the stay in your lane thinking, unwilling to get in the better lane and willing, apparently, to endure things that can be avoided, we, believers, just need to “Get in the good lane” every time we come to some “bad lanes.” You already know this, but let me say it anyway. When we do that, when we “Get in the good lane, “ life will be better and our journey indeed safer and more peaceful. This is definitely a better way to travel. The Father above, our God who has all authority, must have wanted me to point someone in the right direction today with a loving tone. So, I leave you with these kind words today, “Get in the good lane.” Jesus will show you the way if you need help! And when you get in the good land, stay there too, okay? I know you will! I have confidence in you. Have a good day! Be blessed!
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way…” (John 14:6a MEV)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King