“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:6-7, NLT).
Many years ago, there was a NASCAR-themed movie called DAYS OF THUNDER. Early in his career, driver Cole Trickle was zooming around the racetrack when suddenly, there was a huge pile up of cars just in front of him. He couldn’t see because of all the smoke. He was scared. In his inexperience, he didn’t know what to do.
He yelled through his radio to his pit chief, “Harry! What do I do? I can’t see! I can’t see! There are cars everywhere! I can’t see them until I’m right on them!”
Harry, that calm voice in his ear, replied, “Stay in your lane and you’ll come through it, son. Stay in your lane.” But Cole kept on, “I can’t Harry! I’m gonna hit something. I’m gonna wreck if I do that!” “Cole, just stay in your lane,” Harry counseled.
Cole saw the cars through the smoke sliding down to the lanes below, but he panicked, veered to miss a car, and rammed into a disabled racer and became a casualty himself. He didn’t heed the word of Harry’s wise experience, not understanding that Harry could see the entire track, while his own view was compromised because of the smoke.
Months later Cole found himself in a similar situation. He had lost of a lot of nerve in the wreck earlier in the season. He was still scared. “Harry! I can’t see! What do I do?” “Cole, just stay in your lane.” “But I’ll hit something!” “No you won’t, Cole. You gotta trust me, son, just stay in your lane.” “OK, Harry… I trust you!”
As Cole’s car sped through the debris, he could see each wrecked car in front of him sliding down the track. Though his instincts told him to veer over to miss them, he stayed in his lane. Suddenly, the smoke cleared. The wreck was behind him! Harry was right! He had made it through! Pedal to the metal!! RACE WON!!!
How often do we ask for God’s direction, but fall back on our own faulty instincts? Trusting God demands that we sacrifice what we know, or what we think we know, for God’s greater wisdom and experience. God can see the entire racetrack of our lives, something we cannot see. Though He may tell us to take a course that is unfamiliar, we MUST TRUST HIM as He leads us through our race.
When we worry and are filled with anxiety, God will give us a correct course to drive. Calmly and with the authority that formed the universe He simply tells us, “Stay in your lane, the one I made for you. Trust Me.”
David McCall
Executive Pastor
