Inspiration from Pastor Brian Bews
"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers,
because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." James 3:1
February 2022: Finding Traction
I feel like such a fool. Not wanting to renege on my promise to my lovely bride that we would put snow tires on the Subaru this year, we spent a couple of hours kicking around Costco killing time while they installed our brand, new traction tires. Specifically designed for winter driving, in my great forethought I ordered them, and they were put on the end of January. Told you I feel like a fool. No sooner did the tires go on before the great melt ended all our snow and ice.
I thought that I would be smart on my car and SAVE my snow tires that I had put on in Nov. (since the worst of our weather is behind us…and yes you heard me right I had snow tires on my car all winter but waited to put them on my wife’s car until the end of winter!) by putting the regular all season tires back on and saving my studded snow tires for next year since, as I mentioned the big freeze had passed us. As soon as I had those tires off and my road tires back on…..it snowed. Luckily not much, but I couldn’t help but feel that I’m doing this wrong!
Traction, it is something I honestly never think about until the roads get bad. It is easy to lose traction in life however, not just in a vehicle but in our faith. There are times when it feels like we are just going through the motions, like we are saying all the right words, but we are really just spinning our wheels. Paul talks about preparedness in Ephesians 6 where he describes the armor of God. There is an interesting parallel that is there. I don’t know if Paul had it in mind when he wrote his letter, but my thoughts turn to gaining traction, finding a purchase in this rat race we call life, and I notice that Paul doesn’t leave out the feet when he’s listing the armor of God. He doesn’t forget the need for traction, for holding your ground. Look at what he says: “ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.” Ephesians 6:15
In other words, when you feel like you are slipping and losing ground. Put on the peace of the gospel. What is that peace? It is the peace from God of knowing that you have been made right with God and that He desires a relationship with us. That God is God, and he is doing all the heavy lifting. That despite your circumstances, you can still sing “It is Well with my Soul” with an honest heart. That God has not forsaken or abandoned us in our time of need but drawn us to Himself. This is the peace of the gospel! We all go through periods of life where trusting God is easy, and when it get’s hard and faith has to show itself. Let’s not lose traction, however, let’s not lose sight of the hope that we have that Jesus is saving us and providing the traction we need to succeed in this life in Him. Where are you slipping right now? Trust in the Lord for your peace and slip into the shoes of the gospel that Paul talks about in Ephesians!
I feel like such a fool. Not wanting to renege on my promise to my lovely bride that we would put snow tires on the Subaru this year, we spent a couple of hours kicking around Costco killing time while they installed our brand, new traction tires. Specifically designed for winter driving, in my great forethought I ordered them, and they were put on the end of January. Told you I feel like a fool. No sooner did the tires go on before the great melt ended all our snow and ice.
I thought that I would be smart on my car and SAVE my snow tires that I had put on in Nov. (since the worst of our weather is behind us…and yes you heard me right I had snow tires on my car all winter but waited to put them on my wife’s car until the end of winter!) by putting the regular all season tires back on and saving my studded snow tires for next year since, as I mentioned the big freeze had passed us. As soon as I had those tires off and my road tires back on…..it snowed. Luckily not much, but I couldn’t help but feel that I’m doing this wrong!
Traction, it is something I honestly never think about until the roads get bad. It is easy to lose traction in life however, not just in a vehicle but in our faith. There are times when it feels like we are just going through the motions, like we are saying all the right words, but we are really just spinning our wheels. Paul talks about preparedness in Ephesians 6 where he describes the armor of God. There is an interesting parallel that is there. I don’t know if Paul had it in mind when he wrote his letter, but my thoughts turn to gaining traction, finding a purchase in this rat race we call life, and I notice that Paul doesn’t leave out the feet when he’s listing the armor of God. He doesn’t forget the need for traction, for holding your ground. Look at what he says: “ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.” Ephesians 6:15
In other words, when you feel like you are slipping and losing ground. Put on the peace of the gospel. What is that peace? It is the peace from God of knowing that you have been made right with God and that He desires a relationship with us. That God is God, and he is doing all the heavy lifting. That despite your circumstances, you can still sing “It is Well with my Soul” with an honest heart. That God has not forsaken or abandoned us in our time of need but drawn us to Himself. This is the peace of the gospel! We all go through periods of life where trusting God is easy, and when it get’s hard and faith has to show itself. Let’s not lose traction, however, let’s not lose sight of the hope that we have that Jesus is saving us and providing the traction we need to succeed in this life in Him. Where are you slipping right now? Trust in the Lord for your peace and slip into the shoes of the gospel that Paul talks about in Ephesians!