running off the road...

I drive. I drive a lot. I drive at least 3 hours a day, 4 days a week. I have seen a lot on the road. I have done a lot on the road. I have missed a lot on the road. Monday I saw something I have never seen before. I actually heard about this on Sunday, but I saw it on Monday.

On my path to school there is a place where the strangest thing happened. Very early (4:20) Sunday morning a truck ran off the road. The driver over corrected and the truck rolled and the driver died from the injuries he suffered in the wreck. Several hours later a car was travelling in the opposite direction. This is a four lane, divided highway. Yet, in almost the exact same spot as the truck wrecked this car ran off the road and ran into a pickup that was off the road. The driver of the car also died from her injuries.

When I first heard the report I tried to remember that section of the road. Were there any turns or other obstacles that would have contributed to the wreck? I could not remember any. Monday I looked. Nothing. The road was flat and straight. The conclusion has been that the drivers in both instances, without any mechanical failures and no extenuating circumstances, simply failed to keep their vehicles on the road... the results were disastrous.

I don't know if I have ever wandered out of my lane in those exact spots... but I do know that there have been "plenty" of times that I have. More times than I care, or am capable of remembering, I have been distracted by something and wandered out of my lane. I thank God that the results have not been the same for me - but there have been some moments that struck fear deep in the heart.

Have you ever run off the road? I'm not asking about the highway as you drive... I'm asking about the path of walking with God. Have you ever been distracted... lost focus... or simply chosen to jump off of God's path? The answer for all of us is yes. We have "all sinned and fallen short of His glory." Have you recently or frequently run off the road?

There are six things that James in his short letter that I have to remind my self of frequently to keep me on track. James talks about the source of so much of the trouble that goes on around us... and in us. Then he offers these things to keep us on track...

1. Submit to God - what does that mean? It means I have a will and you have a will and ultimately God has a will. My will is not always God's will. Let's shoot straight about me... and you. I don't always want what God wants... and sometimes I do not care what God wants - there are times when we want to be in control of our lives... we want what we want... when we want it... because we want it. Submit means I CHOOSE to seek God... His will... His way... to acknowledge who He is... and who I am - He is God... I am not. He knows... I don't. Since that is true I will rely on Him and place myself under Him.

2. Resist the devil - we do not live in a vacumn. We cause enough trouble for ourselves... but we also have a real, active enemy... who is out to get us. He does not want for us to simply have a bad day... week... month... year... or life. He wants us to spend eternity in Hell - seperated from God. It is not so much that he cares about us - he has found this is his way at striking and hurting the heart of God. We all know that what he wants for us is not what we want... it always turns out bad. Sin has taken all of us further than we wanted to go... and kept us longer than we wanted to stay... and cost us more than we could afford to pay. So what do we do? We fight against him. Whatever the enemy wants we resist. We play defense. When we do... he flees from us. When we submit to God and resist the devil - the devil runs scared. Have you been fighting against temptation... are you weary... do you feel like you have been on the firing line... do you feel like giving in? Do this. Submit and resist. Quit playing games. Get radical! Make a big change... quit hiding it... depending on you to fight it... admit it... get some help... if you will, he will flee.

3. Draw near to God. Are you as close to God as you want... as you need to be? The answer for all of us has to be no. Then why don't we do something about it? Right now... admit it to God and commit to changing. In doing just that you have started. Right now... commit to spending some time listening to God - open your Bible and read! Set your heart on drawing near to God and here is His promise - "He will draw near to you!"

Today... three steps.
Today... do it!
Today... quit reading and start

Yes, I did say six things... I figured this was enough for today. Check back in a day or two for the rest!