Have you ever been driving at a time of day where it's not really dark outside but not really bright out either? The past couple of days have been like that around here because it has been rainy and dreary outside. During this time I have noticed that 99.999% of the people have their lights on, but there is always that .001% that doesn't. So I began to wonder why don't you have your lights on?
Why Are You Driving Without Any Lights?
I began to think about this. There had to be some sort of explanation! I began to ask the questions, Did you forget? Are you completely unaware? and Are they broke? If you are anything like me then your mind spiderwebs from one thing to another based on even the smallest of similarities or associations. Although, this time my thought spider webbed themselves into asking further questions.
Did You Forget?
Did you simply forget to turn them on? Were you too busy rushing around to remember to turn on you lights? Or is it that you can see fine, so you didn't think to turn them on or didn't think it was necessary?
Are You Completely Unaware?
Do you even know that you are driving around without your lights on? Did you think they were the automatic ones that came on when you started your vehicle?
Are They Broke?
If your lights are broke then how did they get that way? What happened to them?
Life Happens. So many times this is the answer to the What happened? question. When you go through life just driving along trying to not speed or hit anyone you may get stuck behind a big dump truck that's full of stuff. When out of no where they hit that pot hole in the road and out from their truck flies some rocks. They bounce off the road and hit the front of your car. They scratch the paint, maybe chip a window but they completely bust out your headlights! You weren't necessarily doing anything wrong, life just happened. Now your lights are broke.
They could even have just gone out. Maybe it was bad wiring or maybe something was knocked loose. Nonetheless, they're out.
Maybe you're driving around without your lights spiritually. The same questions apply. We can become so busy that we forget to turn on our lights spiritually. We get so busy rushing around with our crazy schedules that we forget to take the time and praise God for the day. We forget to ask him to forgive our sins and show us how to be better. We forget to stop, breathe, and focus on God. We forget to ask him to take control of this day and recommit to live for him this day.
We can even think that we don't need our lights on because we can see fine. The problem here is that there are more people on the road beside us. I remember when I was young and this circumstance arose my dad would always get frustrated and mumble under his breath how they have a dark car and you can't see them coming. If we are driving that car without our lights on then others can't see us. As Christians we are to shine our lights not so we can see, but so that all the world can see. Making sure we turn on our lights isn't just for our benefit, it is for the benefit of those around us also.
We can even be completely unaware that our spiritual lights aren't on. You see we drive the vehicle with the automatic lights. As soon as we start our car they come on. So we go to church once, maybe twice a week. We are all fueled up and ready to hit the road! Right? Wrong. I recently listened to an interview with John Maxwell and he said that the only thing that is automatic in life is death. So logically that would mean that turning our lights on spiritually is not automatic. We must intentionally take the time and turn them on every time we hit the road. (Every time we wake up)
Our unawareness could also mean that no one has ever told us we must turn on the lights. Have you ever been told about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit? Has anyone ever told you that there is a God who created this whole world and everything in it, then gave it all over to us? Have you been told that we biologically want to sin, that the skin we are living in desires to sin? But did they tell you how God can't look at us when we sin so he sent his son, his only son, from heaven to earth to be born in human flesh and to live a sinless life so that in the end he would be beaten and put to death brutally carrying the weight of EVERY PERSON'S SIN? That includes you and I. Did you know that all of that happened so now you can go through Jesus to receive the forgiveness from God?
Maybe you did know this. Maybe your lights just got broke while going through life. Whatever has happened, whether someone busted out your lights or your they went out over time, be encouraged right now in knowing that they can be fixed!
If you are one who has never heard about God, or maybe you need to be reminded, you can do that right where you are at this moment. Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead then you will be saved!
Do you know all of this but have just been too busy or didn't know that you needed your spiritual lights on for others to see? You have the opportunity right now, wherever you are to stop, focus and talk to God. Do you need your broken lights fixed? Call upon his name. He is the healer! Do you need to re-prioritize? God says that if you put him first then everything else will fall into place! If you just need to take that step of maturity in your walk with him and start shining your lights for others then he can help. Ask for guidance!
I pray that every person who reads this is encouraged, empowered and awakened!
~Awaken Us~
Brenna Stanford
