Take Your Foot Off the Brake
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
I’ve been driving for so long I don’t much think about it. I turn the keys in the ignition and off I go. I don’t usually think of all the aspects of it. Like starting the car. Putting my foot on the gas pedal. Backing up. Going forward. Turning. Slowing down. Speeding up. Watching out for other cars. Watching for turns. Signs. Stoplights. Yield signs. Which lane to get into. Or out of. Traffic accidents ahead. Bad weather. Lights on. Off. Windshield wipers. Defogging the windshield. Taking frost off it. Using my mirrors. And, oh, yeah, putting my foot on the brake. Not to just slow down. But to stop altogether. To stay in place. Not move. And, oh, yeah, to take my foot off the brake and move my foot to the gas pedal when it’s time to move forward. So I’m not stuck where I am.
I don’t know who you are reading this. You may be in prison. At your job. At the dinner table with your family. In a homeless shelter. In a doctor’s office waiting. Or maybe you’re the doctor. Only God knows everywhere He sends my writing and the messages He gives me. Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, perhaps this message is for you. Or maybe you know someone this message is for.
Sometimes we have a clear calling from the Spirit of God that God wants to lead us forward. To a new place. A new relationship. A new job. A new house. A new place in our relationship with Him. To leave behind a sin. To confront a loved one. To start a ministry. To visit a new church. To continue our education. To learn how to do something new. To fulfill His calling for our lives. To prepare for a big life change. To learn how to walk in His ways. To start loving the people we’ve been hating. To share the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with someone. To spend more time with Him. To start studying His Word daily. To address something we’ve been too scared to address. Whatever it is, sometimes we are very clear the Lord has called us to do it. But we have our foot on the brake. We’re resistant, obstinate, scared, worried, too angry, too hurt, too bitter, feel inadequate, bound in our feelings, lazy, comfortable, don’t want to take the risk, trusting in others and ourselves instead of Him so can’t believe we can do it, etc., so we keep our foot on the brake. This is disobedience, you know. And not only are we sinning against God, but we are selling ourselves short of the beauty of living for Christ and drawing ever closer to Him as we choose to walk in the Lord’s ways and in His will for our lives. Time to take your foot off the brake? Seek the Lord and follow Him.