Real Power Steering

As I was driving to a friend's house the other day, God spoke to me through my Nissan Rogue. Weird, I know. You see, my car has this little (and somewhat annoying) feature that gives me a staccato of three beeps when my vehicle veers too close to a lane line on the road. It is a safety feature designed to counteract the phenomenon that you steer where you stare.

On this particular day, I noticed a beautiful hawk to my right gliding on air currents and for a second, I looked that direction. My awe at this majestic creature was interrupted by "beep...beep...beep" and I looked forward to see that I was close to the shoulder line of the road.  Why? Because you steer where you stare. 

In that moment, God stirred my heart to write again and so I'm sharing with you. (Yes, God can even work through Nissan and vehicle safety technology.)

Let's start with this: 

Matthew 22:37-38

You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.

All your heart: desires, wishes, dreams

All your soul: entire being, involuntary reflex of loving him

All your mind: thoughts, ideas, plans

I want to talk to you a little bit about two things. Your heart and your mind.

 If you are a believer, a sister in Christ, your soul is spoken for. And while maybe you don’t feel you have reached that faith moment where you love Him with all your soul, I believe that battleground has been determined by an acceptance of Jesus into your life. That war has been won and you are His daughter. Which means that the devil cannot touch your soul once you are His. He cannot change that outcome.

 What he can do, unfortunately, is battle for your heart and/or mind to ensure you are ineffective in the Kingdom and distracted from your Savior. This is where we must be diligent, because you steer where you stare. 

We are women, an amazing sisterhood even, of women who are also daughters of an amazing King, and yet often it doesn’t really feel that way. Why? 

•Mean Girls isn't just a movie and isn't just relegated to adolescents.

•Insecurities are very real and one of Satan's easiest tools of distraction

•Social Media shows only the great parts of other's lives, not the unfolded laundry in the corner, just out of sight

•We live in a society that thrives on exhaustion. We are tired, as moms, wives, sisters, coworkers, bosses, friends. We are so tired. 

Think for a moment about your biggest desires on any given day. What things do you find yourself saying in the mirror “I wish…” What plans or goals do you have written in a journal or taped to the wall or swimming in your mind? What would you say, in the last 2 months, has been your biggest disappointment? Do you still think about how to fix it, change it or wish it had not happened? What do you see in others that somehow makes you feel like a failure in yourself? 

Is it the scale? The jeans size? The car you drive? The promotion you deserve? The tantrum your kid won’t quit throwing? The flippant remark from a friend? The house you live in? Your education level? The number of friends you have? Or want to have? Your marriage? The dust on the ceiling fan blades or basket of unmated socks? A loss of friendship, marriage, love, job? 

These things, sisters, are our hearts and minds.

 Comparison is the thief of joy and a powerful tool of the enemy. The battlefield is your heart and your mind. And if, just if, we can literally wrap our brains around this, God will grant us a gift that is greater than any single one of those things your mind conjured. A gift that we cannot compare to anything, and honestly, we will never understand fully until we experience it. Even then, it is incomprehensible.

Here’s the gift: 

Philippians 4:6-7

Don’t worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 

I am sure you are thinking, sure sounds easy enough.  But you don’t really get it, especially that first part. Then you start to remember all the things you need your heart and mind guarded from and *poof* you are back to where you started!

If you are staring at the past, you'll never fully step into your God-designed future.

If you are fixated on the hurt, you will never fully heal.

If you are steadily dwelling on your mistakes or perceived failures, you'll miss the power steering of your Savior and forget that He works through your weaknesses.

You will steer where you stare...every single time.

So let's think back to driving a car for a second. How many of you took driver's ed as a teenager? 

When I took driver’s ed, my teacher was also my pastor’s wife and my mom’s best friend. I loved Mrs. Jana then and still do. One thing I remember is that every single driving session, we had to drive three places: the bank to make her deposit for the week, the Whataburger to get her diet coke and by her house so she could run in and get her Milky Way candy bar, because drinking a diet coke would balance out the candy bar calories. I love that woman! One other thing I remember is her insistence that we put our hands “at 10 and 2” on the steering wheel.  Now, true confession, I don’t really drive with my hands at 10 and 2. In fact I tend to drive with my left hand at the 1-ish position and lean on my arm on the console.But there is a reason why driving school insists on the 10 and 2 hand positions. 

Because we steer where we stare. 

If our hands are in the 10 and  2 position, we are naturally squared up and if we zone out or are not focused for whatever reason, we are more prone to continue driving straight ahead. Why?  Because we are naturally staring forward; because we steer where we stare.

The way I naturally drive, is likely not as safe. If I zone out, I will naturally veer to the right because my body is turned slightly that direction. 

Looking at a different perspective of this idea, my husband was a firefighter for many years and often he will talk about some the scariest moments he had. Weirdly enough, most were not fire related, but vehicle related.

 He worked many wrecks on a major highway in the area that his station served.  There were many close calls that nearly cost the emergency responders dearly because drivers were looking at the wreck and therefore veered towards the wreck unintentionally. 

We steer where we stare.

And sister, let me tell you, it is not just in driving, it is in our hearts and minds as well!

 In the verses above from Philippians, it says do not worry about anything and to pray instead and then you will have peace. Why? (Say it out loud with me) 

Because we steer where we stare! 

If we are staring into the arms of Jesus instead of directing our focus on what Satan wants to distract us with, then we will find peace because He is our peace. 

And as Paul continues, he is very specific about how to change our focus. He says:

Philippians 4:8,9b

And now, Dear brothers <and sisters>, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. … Then the God of peace will be with you. 

We tend to hold tightly to things that are none of these. So I want you to think about one or two things that you are struggling to release to God. These are currently the very things Satan is using as a battlefield for your heart and mind. 

Make two tight fists and hold them up in front of you.

This is what you are holding tightly to you and struggling to give to God.

This is what is monopolizing your mind and heart right now. 

Are you ready to put Paul's instructions into practice? As you read the following, we are going to count off the ways to change the direction our hearts and minds are steering; we are going to purposefully stare in a different direction. 

If, you are ready, hold those fists out and...

Sisters, fix your thoughts on what is:

True (open one finger on your right fist...#1)

Honorable (open another finger on your right fist...#2)

Right (open a third finger on your right fist...#3)  It is difficult to hold tightly to something with only your pinky and thumb) 

Pure (lift your pinky on your right fist...#4)

Lovely(open your entire right hand) Give Him what you were clinging to in that fist.

Admirable (lift your first finger on your left hand...#1)

Excellent (lift your second finger on your left hand...#2)

Worthy (lift your third finger on your left hand...#3)

  of (lift that pinky finger!)

Praise! (Open your entire left fist!) 

GIVE IT TO HIM! 

And just like that, you have released those things to Him and then the God of peace will be with you. Now, the trick is to remember this everytime you start to veer off into that battle of your heart and mind. Make this little exercise your three beeps to center yourself again and again. It is your Spiritual safety measure to ensure you stare into the face, and peace, of Jesus. Your life will steer where you've fixed your gaze. There's an old hymn that was Brother Eddie (Mrs. Jana's husband) favorite that says this beautifully. 

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." 

Why? 

Because we steer where we stare. 

What are you staring at today? Is it true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent,  and worthy of praise? If not, use a little power steering and fix your gaze on those things and He will give you peace. 

Blessed more than I deserve, 

Stephanie