“The LORD will protect you and keep you safe from all dangers.” Psalm 121:7
I spend a lot of time behind the wheel, and it appears to be a good place for God to speak to me — probably because I am a captive audience.
And God was able to cure me of a very bad habit: Road rage.
My rage appeared usually while leaving a parking lot. There I was, heading for the lot’s exit, and from far away I could see there was no traffic. It made me happy to think I would soon be tooling down the road. But every time — and I do mean every time — I got to the exit onto the street, traffic suddenly appeared, causing me to have to wait. It infuriated me.
I tried to distract myself from this anger by praying for mothers the world over, struggling to feed their children; for families in distressed areas, forced to leave their homes because of acts of nature or because of violence; for peace in areas of strife and comfort in areas of disaster. But inevitably after the eternity of maybe 30 seconds, I would explode in anger over the traffic delay. And, of course, I blamed God for, among other things, taunting me.
For years I struggled with this issue. Why couldn’t the traffic have been there while I watched from afar and cleared when I arrived? It was soooooo unfair!
But God was wisely silent.
Then came a long drive, from Lodi to San Diego, and the realization that I would need to stop every two hours or so to stretch my legs and keep my mind sharp.
When I first entered the highway before dawn, there was a big gap between the rushing cars, making my merge a piece of cake. Same thing after the first stop. And the second. And the third. At this point, I offered a prayer of thanks to God for making the traffic pattern such that my merges were easy.
At last, my heart was ready for His reply. It was as if I heard His voice saying, “Yes, of course. You see, I care far more deeply for your safety than for your convenience.”
I was stunned into silent awe, because such a thought would never have occurred to this fallen mind.
And His provision continues. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times over the past several years when my merge onto any highway was difficult because of traffic.
I’d love to also say that my exits from parking lots are similarly easy. But truth be told, it falls into the same old taunting traffic pattern looks clear from afar, but traffic appears when I am ready to exit. But there is one big change, and that is in the attitude of my heart. When that inconvenient traffic suddenly appears, I am joyful, almost giddy. And I thank God that it is there to remind me that He cares far more for my safety than for my convenience, and to remind me that He is always with me, even in the mundane things.