Rerouting

Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

Psalm 115:1 NIV

Recently, while sitting in a parking lot, I heard a loud noise. A driver rounded a corner, jumped the curb, and hit a small tree. The loud crunch got my attention.

Now, he did some damage when he hit the tree, but his next move baffled me. He kept accelerating which caused his car to continue to smash into that tree. Consequently, his car received even more damage. You could hear the cracking and breaking as he did it time after time.

I got out to tell him to back up and about the same he jumped out of his vehicle. He picked up the big pieces of his car and hopped back in. Then he took the correct action to disengage from the tree and drove away.

I imagined his GPS saying “Rerouting. Back up. Go around that tree.” “Rerouting. More damage to come if you continue in this direction.” “Rerouting. Accident ahead and it’s you.”

The more I observed the driver’s actions, the more I wondered if I had also made this same mistake in stressful times. Had I kept plowing ahead into the very thing causing me trouble and then kept on heading into it? I too needed to reroute.

Stressful situation ahead -- “Rerouting – grab God’s Word instead of food.” Illness of myself, family, or friends -- “Rerouting – time to pray instead of fret.” Financial crisis – “Rerouting – pray for God’s leadership in budgeting instead of using a credit card.”

Many times, we reach for our same vices over and over instead of leaning on our All-Powerful God. These vices reap the same harvest every time – more damage. They do not have the power our All-Mighty God has to overcome whatever we face.

“Rerouting.” Pride and ego may lead to disaster. To God’s wisdom and statutes we must remain faithful.

God, help us not to lean on our vices, but lean strictly on You. We give You all the glory!

Susan Partida