The
Stop Sign
That
which should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the
confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful and all-loving God; our suffering has
meaning and purpose in God's eternal plan, and He brings or allows to come into
our lives only that which is for His glory and our good. Jerry Bridges
I had an eventful drive home yesterday. This is the third time we have had snow and
ice this year so I am becoming resigned to the fact that if it gets below 32
degrees and it is slightly wet there is no telling what will happen and it
often does.
I work to the north of the Dallas Metroplex,
(I should say way north). So I watched
the news yesterday and knew there was a chance of snow but the weather guy said
it would be dry and no chance of it sticking.
I’m beginning to think I should be the weather person because I can do
as good a job as my weather guy by stepping out my back door and looking
around. I don’t even need all the gizmos
and gadgets they have to change maps and stuff.
Anyway I did fine driving the 27 miles home
until I drove onto my street. It was a
solid sheet of ice with snow on top. So
I am creeping slowly down my street trying not to bounce off of the cars parked
on either side of the street. I was
doing fine until I came up to my corner.
I had to turn and I was going slowly but my car didn’t slow down. So I am headed for the curb and the stop sign
on the corner. I find it interesting how
clearly you see things when you have no control. This is the first time I ever noticed that
the stop sign on the corner of my street is one of those break away kind, maybe
because I was getting ready to see it up close and personal. You know the kind of sign I am talking
about. It has notches along the sign so
that if someone like me comes along and hits it the sign will just break
away. The only reason I know it was this
kind of sign is because I could count the notches going up the post I was
seeing so clearly as I headed toward it.
So I slid across the street headed for the curb and the sign.
It felt kind of like what it must feel like
to drive in the Geriatric Indy 500. So
as I get closer to the sign my SUV starts to turn sideways parallel to the
curb. My front wheel goes up the curb,
the rear end slides around and the back wheel hits the curb and the front wheel
goes back off the curb, I then slide a few more yards, turn into the alley
slide a few more yards and pull into the driveway of my house. My husband is standing next to his truck
scraping the ice off his windshield. I felt like jumping out of my car throwing
my hands in the air and having someone poor champagne over my head.
I open the door and step out and he asks me, “Who
hit something on the corner?” I said “It
was me”. He said, “What were you doing?” I said, “I slid around the corner and hit the
curb, missed the stop sign, slid up the alley and here I am." He said “I just heard what sounded like
someone else do the same thing.” He
didn’t even tell me what an awesome driver I was to have missed our fence and
the neighbor’s brand new one, along with the stop sign and his truck.
When you are out of control the only one who
is in control is God. Remembering that
one important fact comes in handy in all sorts of situations. God can handle our most out of control
moments and turn them into a blessing. God
gave us control over ourselves. That is
where we can choose to have self-control or be out of control. He promises we will be fruitful in the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ when we practice self-control. When outside circumstances take control, let
go and let Him.
Prayer for the Day:
Heavenly Father, over the years I have been in circumstances where I felt out
of control. What I learned over the years is that in every out of control
situation You intended good to come out of it. Years ago I when I was driving
and got into an out of control situation, I would white knuckle my way through
it. What I learned over the years is to
praise You for getting me through it because You are in control.
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