Have you ever experienced something that shook your faith? Something that happened so quickly yet was out of your control? When these events happen, our human nature has a hard time keeping our eyes on Jesus, but we can learn to trust Him through these events.
My daughter was almost run over today.
It wasn’t her fault, but maybe I should start at the beginning…
It started out like any other day. We ran through our morning routine, which ended up in the drop-off lane at school. We were running a touch behind schedule, so it was backed up. Thus, I pulled into the far lane, which isn’t abnormal. I reminded the girls to watch for cars, told them I loved them, and watched them cross over the lanes.
In The Blink of an Eye…
The traffic was at a standstill.
The truck in the front of the first lane was letting his child out, so my daughter started to cross in front of him. But as soon as his child shut the door, he started to pull out.
He didn’t even look.
And in that moment, my heart stopped.
It was over in an instant. He quickly slammed on the breaks. My daughter gave him a deer-in-the-headlights kind of look and then finished crossing the drop-off zone.
It was finished.
Only it wasn’t.
I made it half-way home before I burst into tears.
When talking to my husband about it, he said we should focus on how good God is. On what a blessing it was that the driver saw her before it was too late. That we should be thankful this experience would stick with her and help her to be more aware of her surroundings.
Yet the momma in me just wants to hold her close and cry.
It’s so easy to get stuck in that moment…
Have You Ever Been There?
Have you ever found yourself in a moment like that?
Where the event is over, yet the fear is still gripping your heart? You’re afraid of what might have been?
Or maybe it’s anger?
Sometimes something happens, and it really gets under my skin. Even though it really shouldn’t. It’s something that happened in a moment and it’s over. Yet I’m still seething.
Have you ever been there?
In moments like those, I’m thankful for my husband. He always listens to my side of the story, gently reminds me that God is good, and that I should act like it. Usually, in just the words I need to hear.
Keeping Our Eyes On Jesus
In the book of Hebrews, Paul wrote:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT
That’s where I mess up.
I take my eyes off Jesus. Instead of running the race God has set out for me, I’m shaken and fixated on an event in the past.
I’m stuck on a moment and even though nothing bad happened in that moment, I let it trip me up anyway.
I let it slow me down.
I don’t know if that’s something you can relate to or not, but I know this isn’t a one-time thing for me. It’s not something that just happened the one day. However, it’s something that I can work on now that I’m aware of it.
In fact, now that I’m aware of it, I can recognize it as a sin that so easily trips me up. And if it’s a struggle you share, maybe you can too.
