Faith-bearing Seed for the Soul
"While the earth remaineth,
Seedtime and harvest
....shall not cease"

Genesis 8:22

What Caution Lights?

I was praying and praising the Lord in my car on the way to the Christian Book Store. Out on the loop, the traffic was briskly moving along...In my rear view mirror I saw the motorcycle policeman  zoom out in hot pursuit of some law breaking citizen, so I pulled to the side of the road. To my surprise, it was me that he was after. I received a citation for speeding through a school zone.

So POSITIVE that the yellow school zone lights were not flashing, I asked to see the judge. During my pre-hearing with the prosecuting attorney, I told him how the cross walk guard told me that those lights had often malfunctioned, though he could not be certain that they had malfunctioned that particular day. I shared with the attorney how I was just keeping up with the other traffic, and how if those lights were flashing, the others would have slowed down, and I would have known to slow down too, because the traffic was really heavy that day. He  graciously smiled, and I thought to myself, "He believes me...he knows it's the truth. I'm gonna get this citation dismissed without paying!"

When I finished he said, "You are such a sweet, delightful lady. I can see that you truly believe what you are saying. Your sincerity has touched  my heart. However, what EVERYONE ELSE was doing is of no concern to me. This citation is to you, and I cannot dismiss it because I believe the TWO officers that saw you speed through that school zone deserve their day in court." "What! TWO officers testified that they saw me do that? Are you sure?" I asked. And he showed me BOTH signatures. I paused for a few moments and thought that there was no way that the judge was going to believe me...then, a more serious revelation came to me. Had I become so complacent in my driving, so caught up with other things around me, that I missed those glaring, flashing caution lights? Two officers testified that I had. I said to the attorney, "You know what? I think that I probably have done exactly what I warn the youth in my Sunday School class about so often. I tell them to pay attention to their own life, to not judge themselves by what everyone else is doing. To pay attention to their own walk with the Lord, and to not ignore His 'caution lights' in their lives, there to keep them and others from being hurt." So, I asked the attorney where to sign up to take the Defensive Driving Course, I paid my fees to have the citation dismissed after taking the course, and I left.

After taking the course, I realized that the Lord had "set me up," so to speak, for my own GOOD! I realized that my driving had gotten careless and that because of the familiarity in driving for so many years, and knowing exactly where I was going, that I had gotten used to not really paying close attention to my driving. Shortly after taking that course, being more alert saved me from being involved in several severe accidents. I had been cautioned to pay better attention just in time!

The Holy Spirit comes to us to lead us into all truth...to warn us when our walk with the Lord is getting off course. He puts up "flashing caution lights." We can, in our stubbornness, in rebellion or pride, refuse to listen. The end result is that we come "crashing" down. We get hurt, we suffer, and after much pain, we FINALLY admit that MAYBE we could have been in error. The word says that every man thinks he is right in his own eyes.  As in the parable of the sower and the seed, we see that some of the seed that began to grow was choked out by the cares of this world, and some was burned up by the heat of persecution, and those plants died...they didn't survive. When we realize that we could be wrong and heed His warnings, are willing to humble ourselves and repent, we can avoid this. David did something that I think we all need to do periodically... He prayed:

Psalms 51: 10

Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires.

Psalm 119:33-37 LB

Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live I'll WHOLEHEARTEDLY obey. Make me walk along the right paths for I know how delightful they really are. Help me to prefer obedience to making money! Turn me away from wanting any other plan than yours. Revive my heart toward you.

Psalms 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

David had learned to ask God to help him see the "caution lights" in His spiritual life, and to seek the Lord's help.

Psalms 143:10

Help me to do your will, for you are my God. Lead me in good paths, for your Spirit is good.

Lord, help us to pay attention in our travels through life! If we get so busy that we speed through Your caution lights, stop us! If we get off the right paths, lead us back, send the warnings, and don't let us stray from You, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen

By the way...after all was said and done...we got a ten percent discount on our insurance premiums for taking the defensive driving course, and over a three year period, that will mean a substantial savings, even after paying for the citation dismissal and the courses! It's awesome to me, how He teaches us something for our own protection, and then through His grace, pays for the schooling, and sends additional blessings as well, when we are willing to humbly receive His correction.

Rooted and grounded in the love of Christ Jesus,

Marlene JuHaros,

Texas Sower

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Eccl. 11:6

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