“When God is in control, I can face things that are out of my control and not act out of control.” Lysa Terquest

It was still dark on this early morning drive to southern Texas some forty years ago. I had two people fast asleep when it happened.

I was driving an unfamiliar road when all of a sudden my car went into a spin. No matter what I did, the spin only got worse.

I finally took my hands off the wheel and said, “Jesus take control.” He did. I hit black ice and didn’t know it. The car eventually stopped safely on the shoulder. Everyone was safe and asleep, though my heart rate was a tad bit on the high side.

So, every time I hear Carrie Underwood sing, “Jesus Take The Wheel”, I think of my own situation.

Yet lately, Jesus has had that song steadily running in my head. I sense He wants me to meditate on the chorus: Jesus, take the wheel / Take it from my hands / ‘Cause I can’t do this on my own / I’m letting go / So give me one more chance / And save me from this road I’m on / Jesus, take the wheel.

Maybe He’s wanting you to do the same? You’ve been trying to get through a certain task, situation or string of days without asking Him for direction and/or strength?

Let Jesus take the wheel of your life. Let Him show you what path to take. And, ask Him for the power to walk that specific path.

He will help you arrive safely to where He wants you to go.

Focus on Jesus, not yourself, and you’ll be ready for any moment.

It was 1948. WWII was over. Britain, in a few short months, was leaving Palestine for good.

The only way for the Jewish people already living in Palestine to protect themselves was to declare a new state – the State of Israel. And for this new country to survive, it would need the powerful US to recognize her right to exist.

President Truman, the US President, was refusing to see or to discuss the issue with anyone due to the constant bombardment he received from people on all sides of the issue from around the world and US.

Yet, one man got through, a longtime friend, Eddie Jacobson. This moment led to another moment, which led to President Truman giving his word that if Israel proclaimed themselves a country when Britain left, he would immediately recognize them.

One man, out of friendship, was in a place, for a mere moment in time, to change the course of history.

You have access to all kinds of people who share your struggles (1 Corinthians 10:13). And in those moments with them, if taken, you can change the world, their world, by sharing how Jesus has changed your life. You can make a difference!

Slow down. Stop worrying about you. You know where you’re going, right?

Be open for and grab those moments to share Jesus and change someone’s life forever.

You don’t need a new year to make a change. You only need a new day.

We live in a broken world filled with broken people. Be honest. We are broken as well. As hard as we try, it appears becoming more like Jesus is an uphill battle.

Spoiler alert!!! It is! Jesus is God. We are not. He is perfect. We are not, which means we will fail.

And because we fear what failure brings, we live in the status quo of life. We stay the same, which means staying in the same place! Jesus came to set us free from the bondage of sameness.

I once read, “Failures are part of life. If you don’t fail, you don’t learn. If you don’t learn, you’ll never change.”

This as well as our walk with Christ are pictured here. This gentlemen is experiencing the thrill of climbing an overhanging rock face.

Notice, though, what’s around his waist? It’s a harness attached to a rope, running through carabiners, firmly attached to rock.

He is attempting to feel the exhilaration of climbing this rock face. And yet, he has a safety net. Does this mean he wants to miss a hand hold? No! It’s going to hurt to hit the rock, but…he will live to try again!

Jesus wants us to taste the same exhilaration of exploring who He is and what He can do in and through us. Will we make mistakes? Most likely, but we are tethered to a rock – Him. And hopefully, we’ll learn not to make that same mistake again.

In a fallen world, failure is part of the game. Yet, so is growth.

Each day is a new day to choose to experience freedom’s exhilaration regardless of yesterday’s failures. Choose to grow. Jesus has you firmly in His hands.

It’s the individual brush strokes that add up to the final masterpiece.

Outside my back window, I can see huge earth movers racing around moving tons and tons of dirt. Where? I don’t have a clue, but the surveyors did.

It was they who put up sticks with various colored flags all over this 200 acre property to let the drivers know where to take and where to put the dirt.

To the untrained eye, it looks like organized chaos. But to the person who drew up the plans, it is a symphony of action.

Each bulldozer, each earth mover, and each water truck is doing exactly what they need to do to get the land ready for new homes, parks and trails that will fill in the brush strokes of the master planned community.

God sees and knows the big picture and laid out the various colored flags. He has given each body part, whether it be a person or a gathering of Jesus believers, a brush stroke to paint in His big picture.

You may not see the importance of your brush stroke. But He does. So, don’t discount what He has you doing, no matter how small it may seem to you or look in other people’s eyes!

Now more than ever, it’s time to trust in the Father’s Big Picture with each individual brush stroke He makes. As you do, you be fulfilled even in a world that leaves others empty.

Each day, you have three choices: go backward, stay the same or go forward.

You should have seen the bruise on the back of my left thigh. It was the size of a deep purple softball!

I was training the only way I knew how to get my body into shape to enter a program I believed Jesus wanted me to be in. This way of training, however, is what caused the deep bruise to surface.

I did a little research and then signed up for a course that taught me a new way of training. Would it work? I didn’t know. I had never trained this way before.

I had a choice. I could keep doing what was comfortable and continue to hurt myself; or, I could trust and rely on their expertise and promises. I took the latter option and made it into the program.

Yes, change is uncomfortable. Yet, who is asking you to change? The expert trainer – the Spirit of Truth. He will guide you into the truth, which once it changes you, brings greater freedom and a stronger faith to face life’s daily struggles.

The Spirit has a proven track record as a trainer. He will make your life better, though not easier as you live in days where those who love Jesus are having their faith challenged.

The Spirit wants to stretch and make your faith stronger. You now have a choice. Go backward. Stay the same. Go forward. It’s not easy, but going forward is the best choice.