Road-Test
Psalm 66:8-12 Bless our God, O peoples! Give him a thunderous welcome! Didn't he set us on the road to life? Didn't he keep us out of the ditch? He trained us first, passed us like silver through refining fires, Brought us into hardscrabble country, pushed us to our very limit, Road-tested us inside and out, took us to hell and back; Finally he brought us to this well-watered place. (The Message)
I have read Psalm 66 many times and considered the ditches and the refining fires and the hardscrabble country and the pushing and the testing and it has left me defeated and weary. But this week Spirit shifted my thinking a bit as He talked to my heart about road-testing.
Every vehicle must be road-tested by the manufacturer to prove that it is all that it was designed to be and to show the world that it is going to perform to the required standards and guidelines. And most people will take a vehicle for a test drive before buying it, won't they? And I always want my mechanic to road-test my car after a tune-up or repair. So road-tests aren't so bad, are they?
The word 'test' seems to me to be a word denoting trouble and sparking some feelings of anxiety and fear of what is to come and wondering if I will pass the test. But Father, as my Designer, knows His design is perfect. And His road-test is designed to prove to me how durable, safe, reliable, comfortable, and dependable His design is and what a good driver He is so that I will trust Him as I go down this road of life. And His road-testing is exciting as it pushes my engine to maximum capacity and tests my handling and ability and speed and performance at the highest limits. If my road-test says I can perform at these extremes, then why wouldn't I trust that I could also perform well on drives through the country or trips to the mall or on a leisurely vacation? And once I've gone 180 miles per hour on a high mountain road without incident then why would I fear doing that again? In The Message the psalmist says that He pushes to the very limit - not that He pushes past the limit. Hmmmm...
So I'm praising and blessing Him as I feel the heat of the refining fires - the welder's torch melding metal on metal to make my frame strong and secure. And I'm praising and blessing Him for the hardscrabble country that has proven I can make it off-road. And I'm praising and blessing Him for the road-testing that has proven His faithfulness as I see that my steering is hair-trigger sensitive, my tires designed to hold the road under any conditions, my lights bright and clear on every dark road, my instrument panel visible and accessible for any information needed along the way, my air-conditioning, heating and windshield wipers reliable under any type of weather, my seats comfortable even on long trips. And I'm praising and blessing for being pushed to limits where I red-line at the shift of every gear and go all the way to the edge of the speedometer because I know that means I can operate at the extremes He has designed for me. And I'm praising and blessing Him as I rest in this well-watered place because it is letting the engine cool down before a tune-up or a fill-up and another chance to let Him drive me a little farther down the road.
I truly believe He has designed me as a high-performance sports car based on my road-testing. How about you? Whatever your design - mini-van or diesel truck or family sedan or suv - trust His road-testing. He designed you. He has placed you on a specific road. He knows your limits. He just wants you to see the potential of your design and how He can and will use you in His kingdom plans.
Happy motoring-
Amy
I have read Psalm 66 many times and considered the ditches and the refining fires and the hardscrabble country and the pushing and the testing and it has left me defeated and weary. But this week Spirit shifted my thinking a bit as He talked to my heart about road-testing.
Every vehicle must be road-tested by the manufacturer to prove that it is all that it was designed to be and to show the world that it is going to perform to the required standards and guidelines. And most people will take a vehicle for a test drive before buying it, won't they? And I always want my mechanic to road-test my car after a tune-up or repair. So road-tests aren't so bad, are they?
The word 'test' seems to me to be a word denoting trouble and sparking some feelings of anxiety and fear of what is to come and wondering if I will pass the test. But Father, as my Designer, knows His design is perfect. And His road-test is designed to prove to me how durable, safe, reliable, comfortable, and dependable His design is and what a good driver He is so that I will trust Him as I go down this road of life. And His road-testing is exciting as it pushes my engine to maximum capacity and tests my handling and ability and speed and performance at the highest limits. If my road-test says I can perform at these extremes, then why wouldn't I trust that I could also perform well on drives through the country or trips to the mall or on a leisurely vacation? And once I've gone 180 miles per hour on a high mountain road without incident then why would I fear doing that again? In The Message the psalmist says that He pushes to the very limit - not that He pushes past the limit. Hmmmm...
So I'm praising and blessing Him as I feel the heat of the refining fires - the welder's torch melding metal on metal to make my frame strong and secure. And I'm praising and blessing Him for the hardscrabble country that has proven I can make it off-road. And I'm praising and blessing Him for the road-testing that has proven His faithfulness as I see that my steering is hair-trigger sensitive, my tires designed to hold the road under any conditions, my lights bright and clear on every dark road, my instrument panel visible and accessible for any information needed along the way, my air-conditioning, heating and windshield wipers reliable under any type of weather, my seats comfortable even on long trips. And I'm praising and blessing for being pushed to limits where I red-line at the shift of every gear and go all the way to the edge of the speedometer because I know that means I can operate at the extremes He has designed for me. And I'm praising and blessing Him as I rest in this well-watered place because it is letting the engine cool down before a tune-up or a fill-up and another chance to let Him drive me a little farther down the road.
I truly believe He has designed me as a high-performance sports car based on my road-testing. How about you? Whatever your design - mini-van or diesel truck or family sedan or suv - trust His road-testing. He designed you. He has placed you on a specific road. He knows your limits. He just wants you to see the potential of your design and how He can and will use you in His kingdom plans.
Happy motoring-
Amy
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