I have a great vehicle. It’s been a blessing on so many fronts. It was purchased for less than bluebook value. I’ve had it for over a year and all I have done to it in that time is change the oil. It runs smoothly, rides great, and has heat and A/C. I for sure cannot complain.
Six weeks ago, I went in to get new tires. I knew when I purchased the vehicle that the tire tread only had a year or so to go. So I left the truck and after the new tires were mounted the mechanic says to me, “Hey you need new brake pads and rotors.” “Great! Another trip to the car doctor,” I thought.
This week I took my truck in for THAT appointment. You guessed it…more bad news! Not just brakes and rotors; but ball joints, calibers, and hoses had to be replaced––why don’t you just go ahead and change the air filter and get the annual inspection too!
As the shop was doing the overhaul, an interesting thought came to mind. Sometimes we recognize a problem and go to get it “fixed.” But when the “Mechanic” of our life looks beyond the “rotors” of our world, he routinely finds some other things that need to be dealt with as well.
Now I am not trying to psychoanalysis your life, but I am suggesting that there are often things in our lives that are mere symptoms of our real problem. Fixing them is not always the fix for the heart issues that are driving the current pressures. Yes, the brakes need to be changed, but the ball joints that keep the car steady are going bad too; hence the car doesn’t perform the way it was designed to. Yes, we need to “slow down,” but if we don’t go deeper we will not even be able to keep the vehicle on the road.
Scripture tells us in Ps. 139:23 & 24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
In the light of my week, I leave with you this…
Let Jesus look under the hood of your life. He will tell you what needs to be changed, fixed, and He will lead you down the road all the way to heaven!