the wreck

I witnessed an interstate closure this morning before the sun was even good and up.  I spotted a warning sign right before I reached Dallas.  The sign informed me that all lanes of I-45 would soon be closed.  I quickly went back to my “Dukes of Hazzard” days and surveyed my surroundings. I have been known to go off-road in these situations and find the nearest ditch that can possibly be crossed; however, there was no escaping this one.  I was surrounded by the Trinity River bottoms and actually up on a bridge. 

I pulled on up slowly and assumed my position in line behind the other brake lights in the que.  Everyone around me seemed cool and calm.  It was really too early to get worked up and in a tizzy. 

I could see the flashing police lights up ahead and one red car over on the guardrail in pitiful shape.  The only action was a wrecker who announced his arrival by honking his horn as he squeezed by in the left hand lane. He squeezed in like I used to squeeze into my Rocky Mountain jeans… many, many years ago. 

The scene was pretty tranquil though, until the lady next to us got out of her car and began working her way up towards the collision on foot.  She returned to her car and started trying to shimmy out of her spot.  I knew what she was doing.  I could read her mind. 

It took her several rounds of backing up and going forwards to inch her way out.  She eventually made her way over three lanes and onto the exit ramp ahead of us; however, the ramp was blocked by a police officer.  

The wreck had nearly cleared, but she wanted an escape.  She was looking for a shortcut and an easier way out.  She was fed up with the waiting game and took matters into her own hands or into her own steering wheel you might say.

I got to thinking…we, living in the world of instant, often want a faster route out of our problems and into solutions, resolutions, and peace.  When we are not at peace and something is out of whack, we can automatically behave like the hurried lady on I-45 and who looked for a quicker way out.

When we lack peace, we try to buy it, take it, drink it, or simply imagine that we are obtaining it by escaping into our own space and withdrawing from the world around us.  Sadly, just like the anxious driver failed, we fail when we look for a shortcut or an alternative.

Instead of escaping or trying to muster up your own peace this week, go to Jesus.  Consult with Him about why you are not experiencing rest.  He is the only real source of it anyway.  The solution may not be instant, but His peace really is.

Do not get me wrong though.  Jesus does not operate like a drive though.  Sometimes He does make us wait!  That is called patience and perseverance.   

I found a passage this week in Romans 5:1-3.  Paul wrote “Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance.” 

I can handle suffering when I know the LORD is involved.  I can also stand in grace, peace, and in faith with Jesus.  What about you?  Do not look for a shortcut this week or a seemingly easier way out.  Look for Jesus.