October 7, 2013
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Emergency Brakes
When I was a young and inexperienced driver, I remember a trip I took with the emergency brake left on. I could tell something was wrong with the car, and that something smelled hot, but it took me a while to figure out the problem! I bumped and jerked along and it is a wonder I did not ruin my Dad's car! I would not advise that anyone drive with the emergency brake on! It slows you down. It can cause damage to your car. Sure, you can drive, but it is not very effective driving.I think there are people who live with the emergency brake on their whole life. No, not on their car--- their LIFE! They want to "play it safe." But, by doing that, they miss so much, and they never live the life that God wants them to live. Sure, they putt-putt along, but it is certainly not the kind of life that does much for God.
In the Chronicles of Narnia, I remember when Lucy asked Mrs. Beaver about Aslan. She had not met him, and she wanted to know WAS HE SAFE? Mrs.Beaver said a lot of stuff about Aslan that I can't remember... something about him being the prince, and the king of all created things. Then she ended by snorting, "Safe? Course he ain't safe! But he's GOOD."
Many of us are looking for a safe God -- one who will not expect much. One who won't put too many demands on us. We want a God we can serve with the emergency brake on. Maybe that's because we are not yet convinced of His GOODNESS. Oh, He is GOOD. You have to remember that and believe it. When you do, you will allow Him to take you ANYPLACE, because you know you can trust His goodness. He will not let you fall. He will not leave you without support. If you have to go through scary stuff, He will go through it beside you. The fires of life will not burn you, and the floods of life will not drown you.
(Hebrews 13:5b-6 AMP) ... for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?
If you choose the safe life, you will never know the glory. You will never live the miracle of a day by day walk with God. You will never know the excitement of saying YES, even when you have no idea what that yes will cost you. You don't need to. You trust Him. God has taken me places I never dreamed I could go. He has used me in ways that surprised me! And all the time, in His love and His goodness, He has kept me close.
I would rather be a risk taker for God than play it safe.
Comments (6)
I'm not much of a risk-taker when it comes to life's situations ~ such as mountain-climbing, etc., but love your analogy here ~ blessings to you ~
Me, too, and I am.
aw. i have missed you my friend.. and missed your words and the encouragement you share~ i love the picture of driving w/ the emergency break on - reminded me of the time i tried to learn to drive a stick shift.. same thing, i was jerking all over the place! haha
) we've been praying about some significant changes in our lives and what you said about trusting God, even when it doesn't seem "safe" was good for me to hear!
hope you're doing well. hugs!
I think Abba calls us to take risk and have adventures.
God's strenght is in Love as the cross shows it .
My friend I see you have no many comments . The explanation is your name in the comments you lefts is not clickable and one cannot join your site . To find you I had to scroll down a lot on the feature "reading".
here is a tipr given to me by another xangan :
" If you notice that names in comments are no longer clickable, do this: Top right, of your screen where avatar is, chose Edit Profile. Scroll through and look for the space next to Website. Add in your xanga address (eg. http://myname.xanga.com) and this make it so that your name becomes a clickable link. Try this! It worked for me!"
I hope this tip will be useful . Please take a try and put me a comment to see if your name is clickable ( it must be blue like mine below and not black )
Love
Michel
I'm leaving a comment here so you know you have someone else who also occassionally reads your posts of reflection and inspiration.
I too liked your analogy with the parking break.