Stay In Your Own Lane

The Swerve

Ask a group of Christian guys to confess a sin and usually a safe response is admitting they get angry in traffic and they would like to handle their commute with a little more grace.

I know I would.

One thing that always pulls me offside is when somebody swerves in front of me without signaling.

It appears to be the epitome of rudeness with a vehicle. It seems to say, “I don’t care who you are or where you’re going or when you have to be there, I’m getting in front of you NOW!”

The selfish intrusion occurs and I’m left to try to make a grace sandwich out of it, knowing that any angry reaction would end up hurting me more than the offender.

The Pile-Up

Sometimes, a collision occurs and both drivers and vehicles suffer.

This happens in racing too where it seems more acceptable. How many races have you seen where a runner, biker, jockey or driver tries to gain position and collides with another racer? A pile-up usually occurs and both racers fall behind or get disqualified. It’s a hazard many racers and fans have grown accustomed to.

But these pile-ups can occur in our lives if we aren’t careful.

God has a specific purpose for each of us and too often we can get caught looking into somebody else’s lane and not realize it was never meant for us.

Without God’s perspective, we aren’t able to accurately assess anybody else’s lane and will always be limited in understanding and running at a disadvantage.

If we are not focused on the race God has set out for us, we will stumble and unfortunately, cause others to stumble as well whether it is intentional or not.

Anger, jealousy, rage, lust, envy, laziness and pride are all stumbling blocks ready to trip us up and send us sprawling.

Joy-Riding

There is joy and contentment found in running the race God has marked out of us, because it is our race and we aren’t competing with others who would take it away from us.

It is ours to run.

Imagine a highway with little traffic (it might not be hard if you travel to church on a Sunday morning these days) and how good it feels to lay off the brake longer than usual while enjoying the space around you.

That is the way we should feel knowing we are in the lane God gave us, not traveling bumper to bumper ready to rear-end the car in front of us.

It appears to be the epitome of contentment with your life. It seems to say, “I do care who God is, I do care where He wants me to go and I do want to be about getting there. I’m letting Him in front of me.”

Now.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” – Hebrews 12:1

“So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.” – Deuteronomy 5:32

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24

Chris Howard

I am a man who loves his wife, Jessica, his daughter, Clara, his family, his friends and his church. Jesus Christ makes this all possible. He has made the difference in my life and I hope you encounter the difference He can make in yours.

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