This was a dad thing because no mom wakes up sleeping children. When we were on a road trip and fell asleep, Dad thought it was funny to move over to the rumble strips to make the car vibrate and make a loud noise. We would jump up. He did that to Mom when she was the only one in the car. Then he would have a smirk on his face as he acted like he did not mean to do it. When (not if) Mike hits those I always say, "ok, Charles!"
Rumble strips are also known as sleeper lines and wake up calls among other things. The strips are to alert inattentive drivers of potential danger by causing a vibration and audible rumbling. In life, we get comfortable or complacent and our actions and attitudes become more about what is going on in our life. Our focus on God is gone as we go through the motions and we begin to drift.....
When Peter was on the boat and wanted to go to Jesus, he got out of the boat. His focus remained on Jesus, he was not confined by the natural laws of the earth. He walked on water! But when he took his eyes off of Jesus, he went under the water. Jesus reached down and saved him. We all have those things in our lives competing for our attention but if we keep focused on Jesus, miracles will occur. Matthew 14: 29-32, "So He said, 'Come.' And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased."
The Bible also tells us about Israel's problem of life having no purpose and meaning. Isaiah 29:13, “The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.'” Ask yourself: Have I lost my zeal for God? When I sing or pray is it mechanical? Am I just going through the motions? Am I staying in God's Word to feed and nourish my soul? Have I lost my joy? If so, you are on the rumble strip. It is time to get back on the right path. These are danger signs that you have lost focus. Our primary focus needs to remain on Jesus, before our families and our jobs.
We are so engrossed in our daily lives that God is no longer our top priority. Sometimes God has to get our attention. It may be through a disaster, sickness, job loss, stock market crash, loss of a relationship, etc. Sometimes it is through these things that God wakes us up before we drift away from our spiritual journey. Let's listen for the rumble strips that comes from the Holy Spirit alerting us and reminding us that our focus has drifted from the Son of God. Let's thank Him for always pursuing us when we drift away and lose focus.
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