Stay in Your Lane

This past week has been rather stressful for me. I think Pamela will attest to that fact. Once again, the job pressure has heated-up at the office. The realization that I must move on and find myself something better is a very apparent truth.

This all being said, my mood and my ability to handle simple challenges or even day-to-day tasks has become like scaling Mt. Everest without a rope or without any type of equipment whatsoever.

With all these challenges, as you might imagine, I found it even more difficult to hear my lesson from God. “What lesson does He have for me this week?” Sometimes, it comes so naturally, it’s a snap to me. Other times, like this past week, I had to pray and seek it our earnestly.

Well, Thursday night as I was driving home, I watched in my rear-view mirror at the traffic speeding-up behind me. I paid particular attention to one driver who kept switching lanes and weaving in and out of traffic.

It really was quite dangerous to watch. With my stress level being what it was and my road-rage reaching it’s peak, I rolled down my window as this driver pulled beside me at the traffic light.

“What the heck is the matter with you?! Why can’t you stay in your own lane?!

You know how you get all tingly when you’ve almost had an altercation? Your body kind of shivers and thoughts go wild in your head. It really isn’t a good feeling at all… and it certainly didn’t help my already tense-filled thoughts.

I began to think about what I had just said. “Stay in your own lane!” Thinking about it a little bit more, I realized… this was my lesson. This was what God wanted me to remember… to “stay in my own lane!”

Now my search was on… now it was time to learn, and understand, what it was that God was saying to me at that very moment. I searched my Bible and found this verse…

Hebrews 12:1-3 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” 

I think it’s great the way I can always rely on my Bible, the word of God and the lessons of Christ, to help me find my way in life. I hope you all consider doing the same when you face such challenges in your life.

This particular verse in Hebrews really spoke to me this week. I needed some kind of encouragement and a better way of enduring the things I was going through… God’s way!

So, here is the line that stood out for me… “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

This isn’t saying “whichever way I’m running” or “wherever ‘I’ want to go,” it very clearly states, “the way marked out for me!”

It speaks about a specific path; a specific lane on the highway… the highway of life specifically laid out for me!

We’ve all heard, may times, that God does have a specific plan for us. This isn’t anything new to any one of us. Throughout the Bible, we’re told we each have a specific talent, role or path. The Apostle Paul…

Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

So, what was God’s message to me this week which He has chosen for me to bring to you? 

Stay in Your Lane – Stay on Your Path!

Not Doing So  

The easiest way to relate to this would be likening it to when we’re driving. Think about it… like the person that brought this inspiration to me last week, we’d be all over the place.

  • It would be chaotic!
  • Traffic (movement) would be impeded!
  • Speeding-up or slowing-down!
  • Eventually, a grinding halt!
  • A major accident!

Now think about all that would happen as we drive and compare it to our lives and how we often stray from our path.

Just as in our driving, we need to take the advice ofSolomon when it comes to our lives.

Proverbs 4:25-26 – “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.”

Being Distracted

If we don’t keep our focus on our driving (watching others, checking our cell phones, talking to our passenger) what will eventually happen? Possible disaster, right?

  • Make a wrong turn!
  • Run into another driver!
  • Drive off the road entirely!
  • Or again, a major accident!

The same goes for our focus on Christ. If we take our eyes, or our focus, off  Him and what He has taught us, our lives will suffer the same fate. The Psalmist tells us…

Psalm 25:15 – “My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.”

Following the Wrong Signs

How can we make progress in our lives, completing whatever work God has created for us, if we lose our focus on Him?!

Just like when we drive, what can happen to us in our lives when we take our eyes of God… off Christ?

  • Taking little side-trips (sin)!
  • Peer pressure!
  • Following Satan’s billboards (believing his lies)!
  • “Exit here!” for something we don’t need! – losing our faith entirely!

We need to remain focused on Jesus, He will provide discernment and guidance, so we do follow God’s directions and continue on to the final destination He has prepared for us.

Another way of following the wrong signs, is getting distracted with judging others. How can we possibly stay focused on what our goals are, and what God’s goals are for us, if we keep looking at other people?!

Matthew 7:3 – “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

Stay on your own path, not someone else’s! …because if we don’t, then what happens?

Running Someone Else’s Race

I can’t stay in my own lane if I am focused on someone else’s path.  Yes, I have to be aware of all the other drivers, but if I am more concerned with how they are following their path, how and I be not focused on my path and stay in my own lane?

If I am rolling down my window to get their attention to tell them in how I think they should be following their path, not only am I am NOT focused on my own path, now I have become a hindrance to someone else on their life path.

Stopping to offer assistance to someone in need is our responsibility but trying to take hold of their steering wheel to drive them where we think they should go is distracting to both of us, counter-productive and prevents everyone from reaching God’s destination.

So as we each follow our paths every day, I pray that we will all heed God’s message to us; because as we do, we will be putting ourselves in the most effective position for God to use each of us to complete the great works which He has set aside for us to accomplish for the good of His heavenly kingdom.

Fear

What is another factor that may cause you to move out of your lane? I think fear is a pretty big one. We don’t feel worthy; we don’t feel of any value; we’re not good enough; we’re not smart enough; I just can’t do it!

Psalm 139 – I highly encourage you to read this chapter in your Bible!

Psalm 139 is written by King David and I’d like to read just a couple of verses from Psalm 139…

Psalm 139:1-6 – “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
  You know when I sit and when I rise;
      you perceive my thoughts from afar.
  You discern my going out and my lying down;
      you are familiar with all my ways.
  Before a word is on my tongue
      you, Lord, know it completely.
  You hem me in behind and before,
      and you lay your hand upon me.
  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
      too lofty for me to attain.”

King David said it well here. “You know when I sit and when I rise…”

Everything we do; every word we speak… God’s hands are upon us, therefore, what have we got to fear?

My favorite verse in Psalm 139…

Psalm 139:13-14 – “For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.”

God knew us before we entered our Mother’s womb! He made us… and He made us very specifically (fearfully and wonderfully made).

Our fingerprints; our DNA; whatever it is that we do well… these are the things that we were made for! Have no fear that you have a purpose!

When you start to feel afraid, turn to your faith! Believe in who you are… let your fear, replaced by your faith… become your fury!

I am a Child of God; I am Forgiven; I have been Washed by the Blood! …I will not be afraid!

We are Blessed

If we learn to stay on our own paths, following the way God has laid out our lives, He will bring us blessings… King David says it best…

Psalm 119:1-3 – “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart—they do no wrong but follow his ways.”

In Conclusion

You are worth it to God! You mean more to God than you or I could possibly imagine! You have a purpose in this life… a role to fulfill… know this and understand it fully.

Jeremiah 29:11 – “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

When you question…
“Got to The Word and not the world!”

God knows you; God made you different… different than anyone else around you! Stay focused and stay in your lane!

Go with God; be good to one another; always stay humble; always be kind… God Bless (Amen)!