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By Rev Don Rivers
How’s the journey going? Are we headed in the right direction or are we on the edge of being out of control, hanging on by a thread? Drifting through life sounds great but it is not the way to experience life in its fullness. Knowing the truth and committing to follow it contribute to pulling us out of the drift. Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Sometimes it seems race teams are just going through the motions.
As Ryan Preece said a week ago, “Sitting and twiddling your thumbs isn’t going to get the results that you really want.”
Some teams run in the same place every week. From the outside there doesn’t seem to be much direction. For some just being on the track is their reward, but there are others that want to move up the standings. For them the challenge is getting things in place to move forward. It can be difficult to accomplish that without some leadership.
Leadership is the opposite of drifting. Without direction, and a commitment to follow that direction there can be no fulfillment, we are just drifters. Listen to what Proverbs tells us;
Proverbs 14:15-16, (NLT); Only simpletons believe everything they’re told! The prudent carefully consider their steps. The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence.
The first step to moving forward in life is knowing the truth. Too many times we are led astray by fine sounding ideas. Too often we impulsively join in on an activity that doesn’t lead us in the right direction. We have all been there.
I remember back in my younger days one of my friends had the habit of getting into disagreements and altercations. It only took a few times before I decided not to follow him into those situations. We have to be wise and avoid things that put us in situations that are not good for us.
Knowing the truth helps. If we have no idea what is good, what is honorable, what is right then we run the risk of drifting through life without fulfillment or satisfaction. Drifting sounds good but when we come to our senses we may have drifted so far away from where the truth is we can‘t find our way back. The mountain may seem too big to climb.
I am thankful that God is there waiting for us to turn to Him. Like the father of the prodigal son, looking, hoping, waiting for the day his son would return. And when he saw him, he ran to him and welcomed him home.
We will find the truth when we turn to God and ask Him to reveal it to us. If we refuse to seek out the truth we will face the consequences for choosing the wrong direction.
Hebrews 2:1-3, (NLT), A Warning against Drifting Away; So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?
There is a truth and ignoring it or not believing it will not make it any less of a truth. Think of gravity, if we ignore it or try to pretend it doesn’t exist then we will be made a fool if we jump off a cliff and think that somehow when we hit the bottom we will be fine, gravity wins. There is another truth to life that we need to heed, good produces good, evil produces evil, good doesn’t produce evil and evil doesn’t produce good. You cannot get even by returning evil for evil.
The only way to conquer evil is by doing good; forgiveness, restitution, restoration, grace, peace, kindness, and self-control come to mind. For us to move in a positive, good, direction requires us to respond differently to the circumstances we are faced with. We must be proactive, not reactive.
Being reactive means we are drifting, letting the actions of others dictate the direction of our lives. We need to stop letting the tail wag the dog. Yes, there are things and circumstances that we need to react to, but from a perspective of leadership. We need to know the truth, be confident in our security and then do what is right. That isn’t as easy as returning evil for evil. Sometimes we need to take our life in a different direction. By doing so we may show others there is a different way of looking at things.
I have seen many try to correct a wrong done to them by doing wrong back. That only serves to escalate the situation into a downward spiral of getting even until something or someone is destroyed. We can get caught up in that and think we are fine until we take a step back and realize that there are real consequences for our actions and they are not beneficial for us or them.
Every choice in life has consequences. Some happen immediately, some happen over time. Either way if we think we can deal with the consequences of our poor choices we are fooling ourselves. The truth has a way of finding its way out. So why do we try to hide it and deceive others? Because we think we know better than God.
Let me encourage you to throw out an anchor and stop drifting through life. Make sure that anchor is the truth of God, His Word. He knows us better than anyone and will be there to guide and direct us through the storms of life. When you have found that solid rock to stand on, share it with others.
Hebrews 3:12-13, (NLT); Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.
Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support and donations helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.
