“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23

Stay In Your Lane

I was reading a passage of scripture in my quiet time recently, and this verse seemed to jump off the page as I read it. A number of thoughts started coming to mind. The first thought was about heavy traffic. The older I get, the more I don’t enjoy driving—especially on the freeway. I’m sure this happens everywhere, but we seem to have some crazy drivers in Cape Town! I’ve seen drivers swerve in and out of lanes continually and carelessly. I get nervous around them, and it’s hard to know where they’re going because they are constantly swerving. Our son Matthew moved here to help us when his dad got sick. It’s a wonderful blessing that he drives me to my appointments. I don’t have to deal with those swerving drivers!

My next thought was about me going along on our unexpected journey. It seems long. I get tired. The “traffic” is often heavy. I don’t know how much further I have to go on the journey. There are times when I want to swerve to another lane, or take an off ramp, or go on a detour. I find myself not wanting to stay in my lane!

As this verse jumped off the page to me, I knew the Lord was speaking to my heart to hold steady on this journey. I need to be careful not to let my heart, my mind, or my emotions “swerve” somewhere else. God has allowed me to be on this journey, and He has been faithful each step of the way. I need to stay the course and keep going…not swerve somewhere else.

I don’t have much choice in terms of the circumstances, but where I find I’m vulnerable is in my thoughts. I can’t let my mind swerve or stray to other times, other places. I must stay focused on where I am right now, and what I’m dealing with. The visual image of swerving has helped me. If I feel myself doing that, I grab the wheel and ask the Lord to help me stay steady and focused on what He has in store for me.

The best way I know to do that is to speak out His goodness and faithfulness to me, reminding myself of His promises to help me. I thank Him for all the ways He has helped me not to swerve. I praise Him for all the times He’s helped me to stay steadily on course. I speak out my trust in Him. I declare that my hope is in Him, in His unfailing ways. Choosing to not swerve, and speaking out my trust to the Lord, has been a help and protection to keep steadily on course.

Father, help us to keep our eyes on You; keep us steady on our journey. Amen.