I used to own a 2002 black Ford Taurus. It was a beast of a car. I had driven it through just about anything you can imagine. But of course, like all cars do, the Taurus would break down. When I first got the car, I knew how to put gas in it, and that was about the extent of my mechanical expertise. Years later, I am proud to say I'm certainly not a mechanic, but I now know my way around a car.
Two things helped me go from a newbie to a competent car owner; NECESSITY and the OWNER'S MANUAL.
I never really enjoyed working on cars, but when your car is not running, you don't have any money, and you have to get to work, preferences get thrown out the window. I learned how to fix my car because that was my only option.
In learning how to work on my old Taurus, the owner's manual became invaluable to me. I would study the diagrams, read and reread different sections, and hold the pictures in the manual up to see if they lined up with what the engine actually looked like. After many long hours of tinkering with the engine, I would get the car running smoothly...until of course, the next thing broke down, at which point it was time to go back to the manual.
Believe it or not there is a spiritual lesson here!
Oftentimes during my morning devotions I'll lay on the couch in my room, under my warm fuzzy blanket to read my Bible. One morning several weeks ago, as I was laying on my couch, under my warm fuzzy blanket, I went to open my Bible but then stopped...
As I lay there holding my Bible, looking at the cover, the Lord showed me, in a new way, the importance of what I held in my hands. For whatever reason, on that particular morning I realized that this Book was my OWNER'S MANUAL. Just as I had found every answer I needed on how to fix my car in the Taurus' owner's manual, every answer I would ever need to answer life's questions could be found in this book I held in my hands.
The magnitude of this understanding washed over me. Rather than opening it, I laid my Bible on my chest, wrapped my arms around it, and just began to thank God for this precious gift. I laid there for no less than 20 minutes, gratefully absorbed in this new understanding the Lord had unlocked for me.
Life is full of obstacles and pitfalls. It seems to break down and completely fall apart at times. I would imagine that many of you, as I have, found yourself in a place in life where there just didn't seem to be an answer to your situation. It is during these times of NECESSITY that the BIBLE takes on a much deeper role in our life than just a book of good advice and neat stories. It is in these times of NECESSITY that the BIBLE becomes our life line, our answer, our OWNER'S MANUAL.
I hope this story may inspire you to hold your situation, whatever it may be, up to the light of our divine owner's manual, and let the Lord guide you through His Word, and His Spirit to get your life up and running smoothly again.
John 1:1-4, 14 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that had been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
No comments:
Post a Comment