I think
Jesus wants me to take the fish sticker off my car.
I do not
drive like Jesus would and I don’t think He wants my fellow road warriors
to think my driving has anything to do with Him.
Jesus
would not be in the rush that I’m always in. No
time to let you cut in this morning. This jet is on the all important mission
of getting me to work less than five minutes late.
I’m quite
sure there would be no dashboard conversations with Him behind the wheel. You
know the ones that go, “Really?” or “Oh. Come. On.” and “You can’t squeeze
forward two feet so I can get through?!”
Can you
imagine Jesus honking his horn because you cut Him off in traffic? I can
usually congratulate myself for resisting that urge, but there have been
times….
I’m
finally seeing the reason I need to allow for margin in my life. Yes, it’s less
frustrating when I have time to deal with unexpected delays, but that has never
motivated me to make the change. Now God is showing me that the lack of margin
isn’t just adding to my stress level. It is stealing from my spiritual life,
taking me away from His presence. It even leads me into temptation. I am
tempted toward anger and complaint when I’m in a hurry.
If
nothing comes to me but from heaven (John 3:27), aren’t I just filing that
complaint with God? That is one conversation I do not want to have with Him. I don't want to push God away with a complaining attitude. I
want to draw near to Him.
I want to
be the kind of driver that makes Jesus glad I still have that fish sticker.
Prayer:
Lord, my daily habit of rush-rush-rush keeps me from your presence. Help me
realize when my attitude is driving your sweet spirit away. Help me seek your
presence in every moment of every day. Lord, teach me to build margin into my
every life’s breath, so I can breathe your Spirit and walk in your ways. Amen.
Are you
challenged by not having enough margin in your life? Everyone has points of
stress in their day but if you are stressed by your daily routine,
you may be “margin challenged” like me.
For more
on finding margin in your life, check out Dr. Richard Swenson’s book, Margin:
Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives
Do you have any pointers to share? What helps you deal with the stress points in
your life?
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