Who's Driving?

 

I had a dream in which I was a front seat passenger in a luxurious, comfortable car, traveling on a quiet, winding road at dusk. Although the car made hairpin turns as it navigated up through the mountains, along sheer cliffs with nothing but churning ocean below, I felt strangely serene and content, admiring the breathtaking scenery as I settled back into the plush upholstery. Gazing out from my open window I could feel a gentle sea breeze and see the constellation of Orion, and many other stars twinkling brighter as the night sky darkened.

I glanced over at the driver’s seat, then panicked because I could see no one there! Suddenly the joy of this journey disappeared, replaced by confusion and fear over having placed my trust in a driver I could not see.

Next I found myself desperately pedaling a rickety bicycle up the same road, but now I was terrified by the blackening night, and by the sheer drops into sure death if I misjudged the turns. I was wearing a new pair of sneakers, but the canvas had already started to unravel and loose cords were flapping against the bicycle spokes. If they got caught I was sure the bike would crash and send me hurtling off the precipice to a watery grave against the rocks below.

Mercifully, I awakened, and rather than writing off the dream to an overly spicy midnight snack, I wondered if it could hold a lesson for me. Once we are We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), and faith enables us to trust in what we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). To find peace in the Christian life we must be willing to yield control to God, focusing on Him alone, and to let Him be in the driver’s seat (Isaiah 26:3). Our actions and even our words and thoughts should be yielded to the Holy Spirit Who indwells every believer at the moment of salvation (2 Corinthians 1:21-22), rather than letting sin control us (Romans 6:11-23).

We don’t always see or understand His plan, but we must trust that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6), and that He is safely conveying us through our perilous journey even when we can’t sense His presence. Only then can we experience the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7), as we trust that He is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).

Jesus’ disciples lost heart in the stormy seas even though their Master was on board their frail boat, because He was sleeping and seemed to be indifferent to their plight. Little did they know that a mere rebuke from His lips would quiet the waves (Matthew 8: 23-26; Luke 8:22-25). When we lose sight of Who God is, and of His limitless power (Revelation 19:6) and love (1 John 4:8-10), our joy and peace at knowing Him may be threatened by our doubt and unbelief (Mark 9:23-24).

At times like these we may resort to our old ways, pridefully trusting in our own flesh to get us out of trouble rather than relying on Him (Romans 7:18), even though without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5).

In the dream, my own ability to pedal up that dangerous road in the dark was pitifully inadequate, whereas the car with no visible Driver offered safety, security, comfort, and peace. Although our own flesh is unable to withstand many physical struggles, it is even more worthless in the spiritual realm, which is where the greatest battles are fought, with eternal consequences (Ephesians 6:12).

Those bumper stickers saying “Jesus is my copilot” are eye-catching, but in my opinion, they miss the point. As I journey through life, I want Jesus to be the driver, not the copilot! Thankfully, He always will be, as long as we hand the keys over to Him.

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

God’s Hand Writing

When the hand of God wrote in the Old Testament, it was on stone, and in the New Testament, it was on sand. Praise God for the difference!

All of the Bible is the Word of God, divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit and recorded by men God specifically chose for this purpose (2 Timothy 3:16). Many of the words of Jesus, Son of God and God Himself, are recorded in the Scripture, as are words of God speaking as the Trinity (Genesis 1) or as God the Father (Matthew 3:17; 17:5; Mark 1:11; 9:7; Luke 3:22; 9:35).

Yet there are special instances in the Bible where the hand of God actually wrote, and these would seem to have unique significance. The first time we are told of God writing, He uses His finger to engrave the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone, not once, but twice, which was necessary because Moses in his anger destroyed the first set of tablets (Exodus 31:18; 32:15-16, 19; 34:1).

The Ten Commandments, or the Law, cannot save anyone, but rather serve as a mirror reflecting man’s sin (James 1:22-25). We are all sinners (Romans 3:23), so no one (except for Jesus Himself; Hebrews 4:15) is capable of keeping these commandments perfectly. We sin not only against God, rebelling against the first four commandments (Exodus 20:1-11), but also against one another, breaking the remaining commandments, which follow in a hierarchy or logical progression.

The fifth commandment is a transitional commandment between loving God and loving our neighbor, as it commands us to honor our parents (Exodus 20:12), who represent our first authority figure and hence become a model of how we will relate to God. The next three commandments prohibit killing, committing adultery, and stealing (Exodus 20:13-15), which are sinful acts against our neighbor. The ninth commandment prohibits lying (Exodus 20:16), which is sinful speech; and the tenth commandment prohibits coveting, or craving something belonging to someone else (Exodus 20:17), which is sinful thought.

Jesus extended this logical progression even further by stating that even looking at a woman with lust is committing adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:28), and that anger is equivalent to murder in the heart (Matthew 5:22). This made it abundantly clear that no one can keep the Ten Commandments, because to keep them perfectly requires controlling not only one’s actions, but one’s words and even one’s thoughts and emotions.

The Law, written by God’s hand on tablets of stone, therefore represents God’s judgment – He judges man by this absolute standard and finds that we are all sinners deserving eternal punishment in hell. Only by the perfect sacrifice of His Son to pay our sin debt in full can sinful man be reconciled to holy God (2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Colossians 1:20-22; Hebrews 2:17).

When God looks at those who put their faith in the death, burial and resurrection of His Son (1 Corinthians 15) as the only way to Heaven (John 14:6), He sees not our sins, but the perfect righteousness of His Son (Romans 4:5-8). In an amazing and mysterious transaction, our sin was credited to Jesus’s account, and His righteousness was credited to our account. God’s judgment no longer will result in our eternal punishment in hell; instead, His grace offers us eternal and abundant life with Him in Heaven (Romans 5:10-21).

The second time we see God’s hand writing, it also delivers a message of judgment, written on the plaster of a stone wall in a royal banquet hall (Daniel 5). Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was guilty of desecrating the sacred gold and silver vessels of God’s temple, allowing his princes, wives and concubines to drink from them as they toasted their pagan gods (v. 2-4). He was therefore committing idolatry (not to mention adultery and using precious objects his father stole from God’s temple), dishonoring God and honoring his own false gods.

He also committed the sin of pride (v. 22) and rebellion against God, even though he had seen the severe punishment God had given his father Nebuchadnezzar for stealing the sacred vessels, being prideful, and failing to acknowledge that it was God Who gave him all his power and glory (v. 18).

Daniel interprets the written message for Belshazzar: Daniel 5:26 MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Just as the Ten Commandments convey God’s judgment against all sinners, this message reveals God’s judgment against the king for the sins of pride, rebellion and idolatry, and should serve as a sober warning to all rulers who falsely think they obtained their power through their own merit instead of as a gift from God. As predicted, Belshazzar was murdered that very night, and Darius from Medes seized the Chaldean kingdom (v.30-31).

The third time we see God writing, the wording of the message is not revealed, yet the effect was similar: it made those who saw it aware of their sin. A woman caught in adultery is brought to Jesus by angry Pharisees, asking whether He agrees or disagrees that she should be put to death as commanded in the law of Moses (John 8:4-5). He almost seems to ignore them, yet begins writing with His finger in the sand (v. 6). Finally, He says, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her,” then continues to write on the ground. One by one, the accusers leave, convicted by their own guilty conscience (v. 6-9).

Unlike the Old Testament incidents of God writing, this incident shows Jesus writing not indelibly by etching the message into stone, but by tracing the words in the dirt where they could easily be blown away by the wind, covered by footprints, or washed away by the rain. His sacrifice on the cross allowed our judgment to be erased and gone forever. Man in his rebellion cannot escape God’s judgment, any more than Moses breaking the first set of tablets in anger meant that God would revoke the law He commanded His people to keep.

But Jesus’ own words reveal that He came not to judge or to condemn (John 8: 11,15), but to forgive, love, and pay our debt to God the Judge so that all who have faith in Him will have their sins forgiven, their judgment repealed, and their freedom assured for all eternity.

Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Who's Driving?

I had a dream in which I was a front seat passenger in a luxurious, comfortable car, traveling on a quiet, winding road at dusk. Although the car made hairpin turns as it navigated up through the mountains, along sheer cliffs with nothing but churning ocean below, I felt strangely serene and content, admiring the breathtaking scenery as I settled back into the plush upholstery. Gazing out from my open window I could feel a gentle sea breeze and see the constellation of Orion, and many other stars twinkling brighter as the night sky darkened.

I glanced over at the driver’s seat, then panicked because I could see no one there! Suddenly the joy of this journey disappeared, replaced by confusion and fear over having placed my trust in a driver I could not see.

Next I found myself desperately pedaling a rickety bicycle up the same road, but now I was terrified by the blackening night, and by the sheer drops into sure death if I misjudged the turns. I was wearing a new pair of sneakers, but the canvas had already started to unravel and loose cords were flapping against the bicycle spokes. If they got caught I was sure the bike would crash and send me hurtling off the precipice to a watery grave against the rocks below.

Mercifully, I awakened, and rather than writing off the dream to an overly spicy midnight snack, I wondered if it could hold a lesson for me. We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), and faith enables us to trust in what we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). To find peace in the Christian life we must be willing to yield control to God, focusing on Him alone, and to let Him be in the driver’s seat (Isaiah 26:3). Our actions and even our words and thoughts should be yielded to the Holy Spirit Who indwells every believer at the moment of salvation (2 Corinthians 1:21-22), rather than letting sin control us (Romans 6:11-23).

We don’t always see or understand His plan, but we must trust that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6), and that He is safely conveying us through our perilous journey even when we can’t sense His presence. Only then can we experience the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7), as we trust that He is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).

Jesus’ disciples lost heart in the stormy seas even though their Master was on board their frail boat, because He was sleeping and seemed to be indifferent to their plight. Little did they know that a mere rebuke from His lips would quiet the waves (Matthew 8: 23-26; Luke 8:22-25). When we lose sight of Who God is, and of His limitless power (Revelation 19:6) and love (1 John 4:8-10), our joy and peace at knowing Him may be threatened by our doubt and unbelief (Mark 9:23-24).

At times like these we may resort to our old ways, pridefully trusting in our own flesh to get us out of trouble rather than relying on Him (Romans 7:18), even though without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5).

In the dream, my own ability to pedal up that dangerous road in the dark was pitifully inadequate, whereas the car with no visible Driver offered safety, security, comfort, and peace. Although our own flesh is unable to withstand many physical struggles, it is even more worthless in the spiritual realm, which is where the greatest battles are fought, with eternal consequences (Ephesians 6:12).

Those bumper stickers saying “Jesus is my copilot” are eye-catching, but in my opinion, they miss the point. As I journey through life, I want Jesus to be the driver, not the copilot! Thankfully, He always will be, as long as we hand the keys over to Him.

© 2012 Laurie Collett

God's Exchange

Would you trade the toaster oven in your hands for what’s behind Door Number 3? It might be a new car or a lump of coal – on a game show, there is no way of knowing. One thing is for sure, though -- you have to give up what you have to get something new.

With God, we have the assurance of knowing that what we will get by trusting Him is infinitely better than what we give up, because you can’t outgive God. When we pray for Him to meet a specific need, He does not just add a little something to what we already have; He takes away a burden and replaces it with a priceless gift (Philippians 4: 4-6).

What’s the catch? There is no catch, except that we have to release the burden to Him before He will bless us with the gift. If we clutch on to the old and familiar because we’re afraid to let go, we lack the faith that He knows what we need before we even ask Him (Matthew 6:8), and that He will answer our prayer exceeding abundantly beyond what we could ever ask or think (Ephesians 3:20; 1 Timothy 1:14).

This is not a prosperity gospel or a name-it-and-claim-it philosophy, because we should recognize that not all our specific requests are in line with God’s perfect will, and that His blessings are often not in the material realm. As we become more conformed to Christ’s image (Philippians 3:10), and trust Him more and more, He will grant us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4) because those desires become more aligned with His perfect will for us.

When we feel that God is not blessing us as we had hoped, it may be because we haven’t yet asked Him (James 4:2; Matthew 7:8; 21:22; Luke 11:10), or because we’re asking for something to satisfy our fleshly wants rather than our spiritual needs (James 4:3). Or it may be that our heart is not right with God because we have not forgiven those who have wronged us, or we have not repented of our sins, or because we are relying on our own limited resources to solve the problem, instead of trusting in His abundant grace.

But God delights in blessing His children with good things beyond our imagination! (Matthew 7:11; Ephesians 3:20; 1 Timothy 1:14) If we have faith to leave our burdens at the foot of the cross, He will fill us up with blessings beyond measure (Hebrews 11:6). He will exchange:

Our sins for His righteousness (Hebrews 12:11)

Our bondage for His liberty (James 1:25)

Our weakness for His strength (2 Corinthians 12:9; Isaiah 40:31)

Our exhaustion for His rest (Matthew 11:28)

Our loneliness for His presence (Hebrews 13:5; Proverbs 18:24) and for brothers and sisters in Christ (Galatians 6:2)

Our pride for His humility (Philippians 2:5-7; Mark 10:45)

Our limitations for His omnipotence (Luke 18:27; Matthew 19:26; Philippians 4:13)

Our ignorance for His wisdom (James 1:5; Colossians 2:3) and teaching (John 14:26; Ephesians 1:17-18)

Our confusion for His direction (Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 119:105)

Our guilt for His forgiveness (1 John 1:8-9; Romans 8:1; Colossians 1:13-14)

Our doubt and fear for His perfect love, faith, and the peace that passes all understanding (1 John 4:18; Philippians 4:7).

Our sin sickness for His healing (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24)

Our tears for joy in Him (Philippians 4:4; Psalm 5:11; 1 John 1:4)

Our lack for His abundance (Philippians 4:19)

A death sentence of eternity in hell for abundant life now and eternity with Him in Heaven (Ephesians 2:1; John 3:16).

Dying to self for living with and in Him (Galatians 2:20)

Being children of the devil for being children of God and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

A story has circulated on the Internet about a little girl who dearly loved a necklace of plastic pearls she bought at the dime store after scrimping and saving her allowance. Her father asked her to trust him to give them to her so he could give her something better, but each time he asked, she turned away defiantly with pouting and tears, clinging to the plastic pearls even though their coating had long since flaked away. After all, she had worked so hard and given up so much to get them.

Finally she realized that her love for her father and her desire to please him outweighed her attachment to her necklace. Reluctantly, timidly, she removed them from her neck and offered them to him. Imagine her surprise and delight when he placed around her neck a string of perfectly matched, cultured pearls of great beauty and value.

How often are we like the little girl, refusing to give up the childish trinkets we acquire by our own efforts, letting them take on the importance of idols in our life? Why are we so often afraid to exchange what we have for what the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer longs to give us?