There are times I just want to get away. Just want to get away and drive or clear my mind or sing or vent as loud as I want . I normally don’t take the drive just because I want to save gas (ain’t that the truth). Those drives usually happen when I am going to and from school. So, really anytime I’m in the car driving by myself, I never like to take it for granted. My driving time is sacred time. Although I can wake up early in the morning to have it, I aim to make the most of my time especially when I have that rare alone time in the car.
You say “rare?” Sort of, in a way. When I’m home, my family is usually home. When I’m at school, people are still around me in the apartments next door. It’s like I can’t really get away unless I’m in the car driving— even though people could just look through the windows. But when I’m driving, it’s just me and God and my car and the road and it feels safe. Does anyone else feel this way?
Some of my most emotional moments happen in the car. Some of my favorite lyrics for praise songs are spontaneously written in the car. Some of my best belting of Defying Gravity happen in the car. Some of my biggest dreams are pondered when I’m in the car. Some of my hardest conversations have happened in the car— especially ones with God. The more I look at it, it seems as though my car has been the safe place - the physical, tangible place - where I can have the alone time I crave and seek. Please don’t get me wrong: the car is not my refuge, Jesus Christ is. But my car has been the vehicle (literally) that transports me to that quiet place where I can seek Rest Himself, The Prince of Peace, my Father, my Comforter.
I love this quiet time I get to have with my Friend. I can praise Him as loud as I want to. I can pray to Him loudly and boldly. I can ask Him questions, as many as I’d like. But, I can also be as silent as I need or want to be. Jesus, oh how He comforts me, makes me feel warm inside like nothing I’ve ever felt. It’s deeper and purer and more powerful than I can describe. These moments that can be so brief in touch but can impact me for a lifetime. Like the time that tears - happy tears - came from my eyes when I re-grasped the concept of “grace” — His grace.
Are there times we just want to stay in the car? Sure. We feel safe in the car. We can dream in the car. We can be warm and safe. It’s pretty smooth driving in the comfort zone. But that’s just it. We can’t live in the car forever. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good quiet time. Alone time with the Lord to read His Word is crucial and very necessary daily. But let me ask you: are you still sitting in the car?
A woman named Leslie Jordan wrote a beautiful song and here some of are the lyrics:
I could just sit
I could just sit and wait for all Your goodness
Hope to feel Your presence
And I could just stay
I could just stay right where I am and hope to feel You
Hope to feel something again
And I could hold on
I could hold on to who I am and never let You
Change me from the inside
And I could be safe, oh
I could be safe here in Your arms and never leave home
Never let these walls down
But You have called me higher
You have called me deeper
And I'll go where You will lead me Lord
You have called me higher
You have called me deeper
And I'll go where You lead me Lord
Where You lead me
Where You lead me Lord
…
I will be Yours, Lord
And I will be Yours for all my life
So let Your mercy light the path before me
Friends, God didn’t give us a light for us to keep it to ourselves hidden or a talent to bury in the ground and not invest. Eventually one day or another- sooner or later - we have to get out of the car. He’s calling you higher. He’s calling you deeper. “Comfort zones” can be another fancy phrase for fear of man. But what are you scared of? You have the God of angel armies fighting for you!
We have a refuge in Jesus Christ. Nothing wrong with finding the quiet place in the car. But if I burrow in it and make it my refuge, I won’t want to leave it. It’s time to leave your fear, leave your perfectionism, leave your anxiety, leave your depression, leave your pride, leave your doubts, leave it all at the door. It’s time to just do what the Lord wants you to do! He’s called us higher. He’s called us deeper. Let no fear hold you back. Run the race with perseverance. Run toward Jesus with reckless abandon and don’t forget to love others along the way. Share your testimony and what you’re learning in the car because it can speak to someone else! It’s time to get out of the car - there’s a whole world out there that needs Love.
[11.11.2018]
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