Just Change Lanes

The other day I was driving to pick up a friend. I pulled into the left turning lane at a set of lights and there were several cars in front of me. I sat waiting for the light to change and when it did, I noticed that no one was moving. The light went through two rotations and I sat there wondering what the heck was going on at the front of this line of cars. Maybe an accident that no one had noticed yet? Maybe the guy at the front just wasn't paying attention. Eventually, two cars ahead of me pulled into the lane beside us and began moving forward. As I followed suit, I saw what had been holding up the traffic. There was a pick up truck that had been parked by construction workers in the turning lane. It was at least thirty feet back from the traffic light but it had given other drivers the illusion that there were more cars in front of it. As I passed it, I sort of laughed to myself thinking how silly all of us had been for sitting and waiting and wondering why we just weren't moving.

God used this instance to speak to me about obstacles. In life there are difficulties we face and trials and hard times. These are just a normal part of everyday life. Stuff happens. However, sometimes we see things as obstacles that really are not obstacles at all! But we sit in "traffic" and wonder what the hold up is. Why things in our life aren't progressing or moving as quickly as we expected. Maybe we look to blame others for holding us back or preventing us from moving forward. But in this instance of the parked truck, I felt like God was saying that we were the obstacles. We all just assumed that some buddy at the front of the line was to blame. If we had taken ourselves out of the situation (errr, lane) and noticed for a minute, we all would have made it through the lights on the first go. Sometimes we are so busy and caught up with life that we don't even pay attention to where we are going and what is going on in the world around us. All of a sudden we're wondering what the hold up is... when we are partially to blame!

I don't know if this makes sense to anyone else but it was a fairly clear message to me. Sometimes the things we perceive to be obstacles are really just a revelation of our own oblivion. I feel like sometimes God is saying, "Just change lanes and you'll see!" What a simple idea. I'm not suggesting that you bail on things simply because they are not working out. If God leads you to do something you need to stick with it despite the challenges you may face. However, make sure they are actual problems and not just the appearance of some!  The concept of changing lanes is really about changing your perspective of a situation. Sometimes we look at things only from one angle, like from the back of a line of cars. Pulling over and passing changed everyone's view completely and we were then successful!

To sum it up, as you live your life for God you will encounter setbacks and hold ups. Prayerfully assess the situation from all angles. Check your attitude. Don't blame others. Be thankful for what has been given to you rather than what may have been taken away. Oh, and keep on driving!