For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways (Psalm 91:11, NASB1995).
Pleasant Spring weather, windows down, and sunroof open.
I was driving while listening via my mobile device, streaming by Bluetooth© to my car sound system, my new favorite song, Honey In the Rock, with the words…
There’s honey in the rock… Water in the stone… Manna on the ground…
No matter where I go… I don’t need to worry now that I know… Everything I need You’ve got.
I was on a winding and hilly road, paying attention to traffic when I noticed that the driver of an approaching rusty pickup was texting while crossing the center line for an impending crash with Pastor Grant, who was now hearing the refrain…
There’s honey in the rock… Oh, how sweet, how sweet it is… To trust in You, Jesus.
Our brains have an amazing ability to slow events down. We then react without thinking.
I was going 38 MPH, which is appropriate for the posted 35 MPH speed limit. The guy in the pickup was going 38 MPH (my unerring estimate), and using my rusty math, figured the speed of impact would be two times 38 or 76 MPH.
I actually saw the guy looking down texting! I saw that the angle of his pickup after crossing the center line would head-on into my car. I looked for an escape route to the right side of the road and… uh, oh… only a cement wall three feet away.
As all this happened – I was trusting in Jesus, remembering Carrie Underwood’s Jesus Take the Wheel song, while thinking of the Apostle Paul’s writing in Philippians chapter 4 verse 4, that I was to Rejoice in the Lord always.
There it goes again… my brain slowing everything down… while speeding up thought and reaction.
I honked the horn.
The rusty pick-up driver looked up, and swerved just in time, while instantaneously giving me an extended finger and shouting where I should spend eternity.
I was glad his brain sped up his reaction, but I didn’t see the need for his brain to allow the finger and the words. In emergencies, the brain puts physical and emotional reactions in the “instant response” zone. Both happen simultaneously, so I figured, considering the situation, that it was best for me to take both the good and the bad.
There’s honey in the rock… Purpose in Your plan… Power in the blood…
Living in a world of sin, distraction, and evil, I pray at the beginning of summer that those I know – specifically naming them – would be protected during travel.
You are all that I need… I keep praying, You keep movin’… I keep praising, You keep proving… I have all that I need… You are all that I need.
[Lyrics by Brooke Lingertwood and Brandon Lake in the song, Honey in the Rock. Application by Pastor Grant!]