Highway 1, also known as the
"Ring Road", is the only two-lane highway that encircles Iceland. In most places
it is built quite a bit higher than its surroundings, probably to avoid crash
flooding. It is, over all, a good road, however one of the primary dangers,
other than possibly hitting sheep who amble freely over the road, is what is
called a "rollover". Due to the fact that the road is raised over much of the
island, if one wheel leaves the road, there's a good chance that the car will
roll down the embankment and be totaled. Or so it was stated on a display near
Reykjavik, the capital, at the site of two former rollovers.
If you focus on the road, there is absolutely no
danger of rollovers. If fatigue settles in, however, or some distraction or
another captures your attention (like the many sheep crossing the road, or the
glaciers or volcanoes or lava fields or waterfalls or geysers, to name a few!),
you may be in for a "rolling" surprise! Friends, these rollovers are real, and
they happen too often to be ignored!
Could this be where rock and roll originated???
Such "rollovers" are even more frequent in our
spiritual life. Instead of staying focused, it seems our attention has a
tendency to stray. In a hectic world filled with stress and distractions, how
could it be otherwise? Tell that to the poor chap who totaled his car. It won't
make him feel any better!
Have you noticed that every time you had a spiritual
car wreck, your focus was not where it should have been? Maybe this is why Jesus
urges us to spend time with God in a place without distractions. Our focus can
only be on God. Only then can we "begin to sense his grace." More often than
not, the reason why we may not sense God's presence is because our focus has
strayed!
"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded
place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply
and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you
will begin to sense his grace." (Matt 6:6 The Message)
Our faulty focus is also one of the main reasons why
God's promises often do not materialize during our lifetime. Take Abraham for
example, old and frail. His focus was still on God. Although he went through a
couple of rollovers in his life, he experienced the fulfillment of God's promise
during his lifetime!
"Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say,
'It's hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child.' Nor did
he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. He didn't tiptoe around
God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise
and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had
said." (Rom 4:19-21 The Message)
If we want to experience fully our loving God, we need
to fix our focus. Too often we look at anything but what is truly important:
"Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study
how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed - that
exhilarating finish in and with God - he could put up with anything along the
way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right
alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that
story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That
will shoot adrenaline into your souls!" (Heb 12:2-3 The Message)
"Did you notice that rock roll?"
"I have better things to do than be distracted by
rolling rocks. Like keeping this car safely ON the roadway!"
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.