After much thought and consideration I have decided to write this ponderings about an extremely painful subject… gas prices. Yikes! I stop at the pump nowadays with about the same reluctance I have of walking into the dentist’s office for a root canal. Hey, I have a 25 gallon gas tank that I now run to empty in impotent hope that prices will miraculously fall if I can squeeze one more day out. My truck right now (Friday) says that I can travel a whopping 8 miles before empty… seriously! I think I can make it to Saturday. Let’s see… 25 gallons multiplied by $4 is… I can’t even type it!
Now, this isn’t a political ponderings and it’s not even a current event ponderings… I don’t write about that junk… er… stuff. Nope… it is a Spiritual pondering. Do you know what I have noticed since gas prices have gone so high? My driving habits have changed.
Yep. Suddenly, I am perfectly content to just accelerate slowly and evenly. I even find myself watching the tach to make sure the engine RPM’s don’t top 2000. Just a nice, slow 40 second build up to 35 MPH. And hey, is that a stop sign a 1/4 of mile ahead? I think I will just take my foot off the gas and coast there. I’ll turn that 8 miles into 20!
Now, it is helpful to understand the radical shift in driving for me. I am a let’s-get-there-baby-as-fast-as-we-can kind of driver. Sometimes I enjoy hearing the V-8 Hemi in my truck downshift and growl in angry response to my stomp on the accelerator… but not lately! I have slowed down.
Slowing down… now THERE’S a radical thought. It’s not easy to slow down in life, is it? We are all busy. We race from event to function to responsibility because we have things to do… places to be… people to see… Americans, by culture, are busy; that reminds me of a Bible story.
Elijah’s life was out of control. He was busy, busy, busy… and for the Lord too! You talk about busy… this guy had confronted a king over his sin, saw his brethren prophets slaughtered, run across the desert for 15 miles — actually outrunning a chariot! He was exhausted… he was angry… and he was depressed. Life was just way too complicated for him to handle and he was ready to just throw in the towel and give up.
So, God showed up and taught him a very valuable lesson. As Elijah waited on the message the Lord had for him a windstorm blasted the mountain, then an earthquake shook the ground, then a wildfire swept the heights… but the Lord was not present in any of those mighty displays. And then, Elijah heard a still, small whisper… the Presence of God coming to strengthen and encourage him.
It’s hard to hear the voice of God in the madness of the world sometimes, isn’t it? Is it because He is not speaking… or is it because we are too occupied and distracted to hear Him? I think we all know the answer to that question.
So, the next time you have to have a root canal… er…. put gas in your vehicle, maybe it could be a reminder for you to slow down and make time to hear the voice of God. Take time to read His word. Spend time in prayer actually listening for a response from Him, because the Presence of the Lord is near. And maybe, if you see me stopped alongside of the road you could give me a lift, because I will have pressed that 8 miles a bit too far… but then again… I could use that time to REALLY slow down!
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