Sometimes without warning we can find ourselves thrown into unfamiliar territory and our usual defensive maneuvers are either unavailable or don’t seem to be working. Obviously, that isn’t some divine epiphany that nobody ever thought of before, but God sent a couple of fresh reminders of it my way recently, and it seems like He might be nudging me to mention them. The first one came in the form of a car accident that involved one of our beloved grandsons. 

The two questions that people generally tend to ask about an accident are, “Was anybody hurt?” and “Whose fault was it?” The first answer is, thankfully, no one was injured. Regarding the second question, we’re biased so we’ll leave that one alone (… although there was a missing road sign that should have indicated a literal 90 degree right turn ahead – on a road he’d never driven on before). But regardless of how that one turns out, there were other factors that do contribute to our grandson’s defense. For instance, it was late at night when the accident happened, and the rainy weather affected his visibility and made the road look darker. The other factor … well, that was the road itself. 

Unacknowledged Benefits ~
Truth is, the country roads here in Middle Tennessee are different from most. They twist and turn in ways that don’t seem to make any sense, and most don’t have protective guardrails where you might expect them, nor do many of them have decent (if any) shoulders. But in case you wonder, yes, they do have drop-offs. People might criticize our back roads, but they actually provide spiritual benefits … like the asset they represent for our local evangelists. Even preachers with a mediocre delivery can still put the fear of God in the younger crowd with dramatic stories of wrecks on these roads. Kids can easily envision being suddenly snatched away with no warning and finding themselves face to face with the God who knows exactly what they did at youth camp two summers ago. 

But I digress. The principle I want to emphasize is so obvious it seems unworthy of specific attention. On the other hand, it can also be so obvious we cease to notice it. My objective is to simply offer a reminder that however stable life seems to be at any point, that can change in an instant. Without warning, forces can overtake us, and nothing in our arsenal of available resources at the moment can stop them. 

Didn’t See It Coming ~
In addition to that reminder from the car accident, there was one other illustration that came along last week as my wife and I were preparing to head off to bed. I was leaving the kitchen and about to tell our household’s administrative assistant, “Alexa,” to turn on the bedroom light. I got as far as her name and then my mind just seemed to stop working. (I know, some of you are wondering what’s new or different about that?) I was apparently experiencing something called a TIA. Some people refer to it as a mini-stroke, but that’s not actually what it is. TIA is an acronym for Transient Ischemic Attack, but from the way it affected me at the time, I felt like it should have actually meant Total Idiot Arrival. 

In an instant, I couldn’t even clearly envision what I wanted to say, much less get the words out. There was such a total inability to communicate rationally, I could have been a stand-in for Joe Biden at a Presidential press conference or could have subbed for any of those “woke” educators or their partners in politics and the media these days. There was nothing in my repertoire of experiences or training that was of any use at all during the episode. It was a fresh reminder from God of a truth we know well, but can easily forget. That is, our lives are not our own: 

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NKJV)

A Different Perspective ~
The good news is that after a brief hospital stay and lots of tests and scans later, it appears that I’m in very good health overall. There are obstructions in both vertebral arteries that the vascular specialists will be keeping an eye on, but thankfully, I’m not mentally impaired. So, there goes any chance of landing an upper level position in academia. Another helpful thing that God did with this episode was to remind us that all of our lives are lived in uncharted territory. We might envision the scenery looking familiar as we try to peer into the future, but it’s an illusion we create based on the roads we’ve traveled so far. The truth is that in spite of our occasional “deja-vu” feelings, every single minute of every day we live is territory we haven’t experienced before. We ride the razor edge we call “now” with no guarantees about the duration of the trip or about how, where, or when everything around us might change. In light of that, God has an admonition that we need to take seriously. He said: 

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that. (James 4:13–15 NKJV)

God doesn’t provide each of us with some kind of detailed map or spiritual GPS to reveal His will for us. In most cases, He does it incrementally, a bit at a time. He delights to unveil His plans for us in ways that enhance His individual relationship with us. That’s why James directs us to include Him and submit our plans and intentions to His authority, because He knows what lies ahead. The Apostle Paul adds an intriguing perspective to the issue that works in conjunction with what James had to say. Paul passionately declares:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1–2 NKJV)

A Path to Victory Revealed ~
Preparing for the twists and turns we can’t see coming and discovering the wonderful things that God has planned for us begins by admitting that the future holds obstacles we can’t overcome and challenges beyond our abilities. The path to victory now and forever begins by submitting ourselves to Him. Once He takes ownership of these “vehicles” we live in, our welfare is in His hands and the control mechanisms belong to Him. 

It is when we surrender our bodies and lives to Him that we then begin to prove, i.e. test and discover, the will of God. It is in our partnership with Him that we find that His will for us is good. It is in allowing Him to guide us through the trials that we find that His way is acceptable, and perfect. 

So, welcome to another day of exploring uncharted territory. May God make the exciting adventure before us fruitful for His Kingdom – and more fulfilling than we could have imagined.

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • “Every single minute of every day we live is territory we haven’t experienced before. We ride the razor edge we call “now” with no guarantees about the duration of the trip or about how, where, or when, everything around us might change.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “Preparing for the twists and turns we can’t see coming and discovering the wonderful things that God has planned for us begins by admitting that the future holds obstacles we can’t overcome and challenges beyond our abilities.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “The path to victory now and forever begins by submitting ourselves to God. Once He takes ownership of these “vehicles” we live in, our welfare is in His hands and the control mechanisms belong to Him.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “It is when we surrender our bodies and lives to Him that we then begin to prove, i.e. to test and discover, the will of God. It is in our partnership with Him that we find that His will for us is good. It is in allowing Him to guide us through the trials that we find that His way is acceptable and perfect.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “It is when we surrender our bodies and lives to Him that we then begin to prove, i.e. to test and discover, the will of God . . . It is in allowing Him to guide us through the trials that we find that His way is acceptable and perfect.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 

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