Maybe It’s Time For a Wake-Up Call
A few weeks ago, I was returning from a long ministry day at the church where I serve in Maryland. It had been a good day of preaching, worship, and chatting with friends in the lobby. I thoroughly enjoy these mornings, but after several hours, I get a little tired. Two friends joined me for the day, and we were on our way to lunch on the drive home, which is about an hour and a half.
I was in fairly heavy traffic on northbound I-83 when I grew sleepy at seventy miles an hour. One friend was asleep in the rear seat while the other offered sporadic conversation, noticing that I was drifting a bit. I make this drive at least twice a week, often three times. I generally enjoy the journey, especially when I leave the interstate for the last half hour and drive through large estates, beautiful homes, and horse farms, through rolling hills and woods in northern Maryland.
Suddenly, I was abruptly awakened when my vehicle drifted into the four-foot-high concrete barrier and was slung back into the lane like a basketball slammed against a wall. I woke up.
In a split second, my mind drifted into la, la land, almost to my demise. But on this Sunday, my guardian angel was diligent and averted a catastrophe. I could have easily been spun around in the midst of traffic, or crashed hard into the wall at a different angle, demolishing much of the vehicle and perhaps me and my innocent passengers. I was surrounded by cars full of innocent victims. Whew!
In short, God saved my butt, and those around me as well.
In fifty-eight years of driving, I’ve never had a serious accident and only two very minor incidents. I consider myself a good driver when I’m awake, not so much otherwise.
My friends frequently offer to drive if I feel the need, but I rarely accept.
Guess what, I changed my views. I’d rather my friends and I stay alive while I sit in a passenger seat, taking a catnap. But it took a dangerous mishap to “wake me up.”
You know, sometimes we need a wake-up call. We go through life as we’ve always done, only to realize our trajectory is taking us somewhere we don’t want to go. Maybe we’ve always done it that way, but things inside or around us have changed, and we haven’t adjusted. We’re headed toward a concrete wall, unaware.
This happens to some people, but they’re not so lucky. They don’t survive. They crash and burn, taking others with them in the process.
A marriage is flaming out because someone didn’t attend to it properly.
A child lost a parent to other interests and struggles to find guidance toward the right path. Dad or Mom is off doing other things. One day, Dad wakes up, and the son or daughter is gone.
We let life maintenance go too long, and now we’re left behind.
We lied too many times, and now most folks don’t trust us. They keep their distance.
We cheated one too many times and got caught.
We shunned the doctor for years, and now a preventable disease has come to call.
We didn’t make time for talking to God, and now He seems distant.
We forgot the rules because we stopped refreshing ourselves. Now there’s a painful cascade of brokenness of our own making.
We got away with it for so long, but now the curtain has been pulled back, and our dark side has been revealed to the world.
We didn’t listen to the warnings of friends and family, now it’s too late.
Now look what happened!
We fell asleep at the wheel, with devastating effects on ourselves and others.
The first King of Israel was such a person. Saul was chosen for this honored position because of his humble demeanor and adherence to God’s ways. But it went to his head. He began to believe that the royal accolades his subjects offered him for his greatness were deserved because of his own strength. He was drifting off, oblivious to his tenuous situation.
One day, God let him have his way. He listened to his own distorted voices, controlled by another spirit, a not-so-Godly being. In the end, he lost his subjects, he lost his son, and finally, he lost his life, humiliated and defeated.
Saul’s legacy is not pretty. Thousands of years later, we still hear of his folly, not his victory. How sad.
Interestingly, God sent many warning signs through his friends, his son, his most ardent employee (David), his priest and prophet, and even his enemies. But he refused to be swayed. Instead, the first King of Israel died in shame, forever to be remembered as the king who decided, as the song says, “to go his own way.”
(You can read Saul’s story in the Old Testament Bible book of 1 Samuel, chapters 15-31)
I learned my lesson on that fateful Sunday in April. I’ll be occupying the passenger seat a little more often.
I hope you, too, listen and learn before it’s too late.
By the way, the miracle is that my wheels took the brunt of that incident. I walked away with only gashes on the wheels, not a single scratch on my car. To me, that is a bona fide miracle. More importantly, I’m still here to tell about it. That’s called mercy, followed by a large dose of grace.
I don’t know why God allows us to walk away unharmed one day while letting us suffer the consequences on others. But I’ll take this mercy-filled experience with a simple “thank you.” Lesson learned.
I hope you heed your wake-up call.
Live Inspired!
Don Mark
P.S. If this article is helpful for you, please pass it along to others who might benefit too. You can read dozens of Live Inspired! articles I’ve written on www.donmarkhamilton.com.
