"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?'
or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' "For the Gentiles
eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all
these things will be added to you. "So do not worry about tomorrow; for
tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:31-34
Driving down a city road I was suddenly aware that the car to my
left did not see me and was coming over into my lane. In order to avoid a collision I turned the
car toward an open driveway for a local business. I avoided the other car but slammed my tire
into the curb on the other side of the drive.
I expected to hear the tire blowout but somehow it remained
inflated. However, it did not take long
to realize I had knocked the front end out of alignment.
Have you ever driven a car that had an alignment problem? You would know it if you have because you
have to fight the steering to keep a straight course. Poor alignment causes the car to pull to the
left or right constantly regardless of the road conditions. Driving for long with this problem will wear
you out! As I drove down the road I
looked at the position of my steering wheel and realized I needed to get my car
to a repair shop for alignment.
Not only does the car not handle properly but a faulty alignment
wears out the tires and other parts on a car much faster than they would
normally be worn down. The longer you
run the car without repair, the higher the cost will be to fix the damage. I needed to do this quickly to avoid further
damage.
Interestingly, I began to consider how the lack of proper
alignment in my life can cause me some problems as well. When things get out of order life is harder
to manage and the course of my life is more difficult to navigate. Not only that, when things are out of proper
alignment it seems more things break down.
When I was a child, a Sunday School teacher taught us the order of
things in life with the word JOY…Jesus first, Others second and You
third. I’m not sure whether that stands
theological scrutiny but it does establish a beginning point to help keep
things in proper alignment. Life never
works well with a “me first” mentality.
On a personal level, it’s also easy to get my spirit, soul and
body out of alignment. When the body is
in control we find ourselves feeding addiction demands. When the soul is in control we are trapped by
our emotions. Only when the spirit is in
control can I know the peace, purpose and power that God wants me to experience
on my lie journey.
I’m pretty quick to respond to mechanical problems in order to
keep from having a breakdown. I don’t
know that I am quite as quick to recognize and respond to spiritual or life
problems with the same dispatch. It’s
pretty easy just to keep fighting our way along and not deal with the issues
that are making life difficult to navigate.
The result is feeling worn out from the effort. Maybe it’s time to check your alignment today.
Scripture
to Claim:
Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:1-4
Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:1-4
