Personal Driving Conviction

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_Disciple_ Oct 21, 2005

Dear brothers and sistersIt's quite a long time ago when God dealt with me about my driving...short introduction:I am a taxi driver for 2 years now and i drive at night, bringing the people to and from the parties etc. However the first year i only worked at day time. And at day time i couldn't drive very fast because of the heavy traffic. But at night times traffic is less, so you can get somewhere faster.this was my motto, i'd said "how a drive at day time, i will drive at night"...guess what, it became "how i drive at night is how i drive at day time"this went on for quite a time, and this summer i went to a summercamp, and the Bible studies were about "The Judgement Seat Of Christ".I'm glad to have a car for my own, and it happened as ussual that in that in the beginning of the week, you pick some friends up from the station. It was quite a straight way, from the camp to the station...and to give a little indication of how my driving was "50 km/h is allowed, i would drive there 80 km/h or 100 km/h" :-? In that week we went to the beach also and i would drive again very fast...Until God showed me that i was wrong, it was mispleasing Him, my driving was a sin and a reproach to The Name of Christ and i was not a witness, a witness which i could and ought to be in my driving.He convicted me it was wrong, so much that all i've done, that i was ashamed, i was so ashamed for all my speeding around and driving so fast. I could boast or be "the cool guy who drives fast" i was ashamed because, i was wrong, and with my driving style i sinned against Him only!So a shame came into my heart and still i cannot be excited about what i've done. [sigh]But God who is rich in Mercy and Grace to change my heart and my driving style!! [smile]But i knew my self, i knew i couldn't drive normal, when i drove normal it would feel like grandma's in wheelchairs were quicker (little exaggeration [laughs])Anyway what i've experienced was that His Grace gave me the strength to drive a normal speed [smile] still i am not perfect, but what i've experienced was that "i cannot drive normal" it is His Spirit working through me, so i can drive proper with Christ who gives me the strength!"let the weak say i am strong in The Strength of The Lord!"i bet some of you guys who have their driving license and are around the age of 21 (which i'm now) have maybe the same experience.i'd like to say repent, turn to Him, and lay your driving manners and style in His Hands, that you can be a witness also during/in the traffic, that you can glorify Him in your driving! If He is Lord of your life, is He Lord in this area?"but you, you are totally different, you know Christ" Eph 4:20 (literal dutch translation)We are different, because we know Him our Lord Jesus, and is He The Lord when we are on the road and maybe alone in our car! Or do we say "well i'm fine" or "it's oke", or "i like speed", or maybe you're finding yourself to be the best...think again, please, ask Jesus to touch your heart, to convince and to help you to drive proper, not by you own strength, but by His Grace!Praise God for working daily in our life and changing us more, to be more like Him and less like me!!However i still drive at night, but i can drive proper because of His Grace and the speed limit [laughs] (great feature built in the taxi, than you can't go faster than the speed you adjust it to, for example "60" means you can't drive faster than 60 km/h)And what i now see is that God uses me much more to be a witness to my colleagues!! He has opened doors to talk about Him!Prais God, He makes us different, for we know Him, our Lord Jesus!"Lord Jesus, please touch the hearts of those who want to live for You, i thank You for all those brothers and sisters here, Lord i want to ask You, for You are Lord, be The Lord in their life more, touch their hearts and convince when there is something to let go, that we may walk in repentance and live a life worthy our repentance, touch our hearts, make us more like You! Be Thou glorified in each ones life, in Jesus Name, Amen"

T

Tears_of_joy Oct 21, 2005

Dear brother, thank you for sharing your heart about this subject. "We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people—and this is not learned in five minutes." -Oswald Chambers , (My Utmos for His Highest , October 21, today)

W

Warrior4Jah Oct 21, 2005

Ey bro!Its cool to read that God has changed you even in this small matter. And how great God can use you better to reach your collegues now!Good to read that you haven't forgotten what you said on camp. (Like conviction can be forgotten anyhow.. or it haunts you, or you obey)! Don't worry, doing what God says doesn't make you an old granny but a cool guy! :-) Had to think about that about driving into a one way bicycle path(from the wrong side).. I was like, why do I have to cross the road twice because this bicyclepath has been changed to one way? I mean come on.. the marks were badly removed too! So technically the marks are still there and so its ok to ride there. (While ignoring the various signs which said cyclists to cross the road)My projectpartner thinks this is nonsense. Just like many will think its nonsense why you should keep the speedlimit. I did pray about this and asked forgiveness for this as even this is sin. If people are not watching you then God will.Its true that not speeding won't get you in heaven.. But its one thing we don't need to be ashamed about when we do face Jesus. :-)

P

philologos Oct 21, 2005

thank you for sharing this. It is so easy to compromise on the 'umimportant things' but the Spirit of God so often puts His finger on what we have judged to be 'umimportant'. Thanks again.My projectpartner thinks this is nonsense. Just like many will think its nonsense why you should keep the speedlimit. I did pray about this and asked forgiveness for this as even this is sin. If people are not watching you then God will.“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” (1Pet. 2:13-17, NKJV)

D

dohzman Oct 21, 2005

That's not no small matter. In my own life several years ago I was at a camp meeting for a week where the Holy Spirit fell and at the end of the week as my family and I left the camp grounds I came up to a stop sign and made one of my rolling stops, you know what I mean, Didn't really come to a full stop. I felt such a deep sense of conviction and instantly knew that I had sinned against God by breaking a traffic law. Unfortunity I didn't really repent by changing that driving habit. Fast forward the tape to 3 years later and at a time when monies where scarce and I came to another stop sign and made my coasting stop n go again, only this time I recieved a $125.00 fine as a result of my breaking the law. I was so mad at the patrolman because he could have showed mercy and didn't , and also he gave me a major attitude. As I reflected on that weeks latter it was as if the Lord was telling me that the conviction of that sin years earlier was for my own good , to ptotect me from something I didn't need to experience when I recieved a fine. That fine caused me to hate that officer for a long while in my heart and it took months for me to work through thoughs emotions. :-( I now come to full stops :-) . I've concluded that The Lord wastes nothing in His training us up :-) God Bless Bro. Daryl

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philologos Oct 21, 2005

That's not no small matter.I ought to have made it more clear that in referring to 'unimportant things' I was really saying that this is the way the we are often tempted to view them. As you say, nothing is unimportant in God's daily discipling of his children.

A

arielle Oct 21, 2005

hey william,thanks for sharing this. praise the Lord that He has brought you to this place where you are driving slower ;-) what a reminder this is to obey Him in the little (and big) things in life! i like what oswald chambers says:"the true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. a person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight.""but those who obey God's word really do love him. that is the way to know whether or not we live in him. " 1 john 2:5what a great example of obedience. take care brother!in Him,arielle

sermonindex Oct 21, 2005

:-D Hello William and Daryl,How I am smiling! (Laughing, actually!) When I was younger, I used to drive fast everywhere. I lived in Scotland in those days, where often there is only one route to the place you're going and the roads were emptier. Then I moved to England, where often there is a choice of routes - which was handy, as some routes are busier than others - and it left open the possibility of choosing a 'faster' route.Then, when I was expecting my first child, I began to feel vulnerable and took fewer chances but, still broke speed limits. After I had my child(ren) I slowed down even more but tended to drive for the road conditions rather than according to the speed limit. This was the same both night and day. By now, I had had time to reflect on a testimony from a brother, who thought there must have been an angel on each corner of his car, he had driven so dangerously in the past. I had a similar feeling about my driving, despite having learned how to sit in a traffic jam for hours, without being distressed by the situation.Still, this was not good enough. Speed cameras became more commonly used in the UK, but I was not perturbed until, caught on a very quiet stretch of road which has a slight downhill, by a mobile patrol - not driving dangerously or too fast for the road conditions but - breaking the speed limit. Daryl, I SOO sympathise with your reaction. I was enraged!!!! Worse, making the same journey the following week at the same time of day, I was clocked doing only 2 miles an hour slower. :-? ANOTHER ticket! I was NOT amused. How I am laughing now, but it wasn't funny at the time.Since then, I took risks in an unknown part of the country and got another ticket, about nine months after that. (OH! This confession is so emabarrassing!) To let you understand, each of these 'convictions' bring a fine AND penalty points on one's licence. So now, I had 9 points and the maximum for automatic disqualification, is 12.Another year later, I was driving at night in part of the country I'd been once before, in the day - in a traffic jam - and was passing matrix signs which displayed the date and time, for want of traffic conditions to warn of. I had already been on the road for several hours and was nearing the end of my journey, having passed through several stretches of road works, which offered 3/4 mile warning to slow down. I been on major trunk route only for at least 200 miles (max speed 70 mph). Suddenly, there was some street lighting and I was FLASHED by a SPEED CAMERA! I couldn't believe it. THIS TIME, I was not breaking 70 mph - or so I thought. I was right, as it turned out. I was doing only 65.Well, I won't give you all the details but, there was sign which should have been lit, reducing the speed to 50 mph. (I am now an expert on the conditions the local authority must fulfil for a conviction to stand.) which I did not see when I should have, in order to slow down in time for the area of speed restriction; and after strenuous research on my part, I wrote a letter to the Police, which elicited a revocation of my conviction, with a warning to be very, very careful in future. :-PNow, I am only weeks away from having the first 6 points taken off my licence after 3 years of them, (sigh) and I can assure you all, that my eyes are now peeled for information as to the designated speed for the road, and that true saying 'If you're going to put a Billy Graham sticker on your car, then stick to the speed limit' has been ringing round my head for many months.It has been a spiritual experience, to go through this, as it has caused me to reflect on much more than my speed. I looked at the numbers on the first two tickets I received, (only a week apart) and they were so far apart in numerical value, that the fines received by the Police from that week alone, were worth tens of thousands of pounds sterling. This is the sort of thing that makes people cynical and angry towards government, and one wonders at yet another dimension of God's determination to call people to Himself, to a place of internal rest.It fascinates me that when Jesus walked the earth there was no such thing as a car, and yet, the word of God is just as relevant to our car-bound societies, as it is to those where people still walk everywhere. Praise His Name! 8-)

M

markm Oct 21, 2005

*sigh*.. this is something I've been letting slide lately. I've been through it before, so I know what I should do. But, my pride tells me I can go whatever speed I want, and my impatience makes me want to go fast. But those two died with Christ, and I have no need to obey them.

H

habakkuk3 Oct 21, 2005

I thank God for this thread because of the conviction of sin. Despite not the day of small things...I wonder what a non-believer must think when a Christian goes flying by them on the highway (they got a sticker on their car saying they're a believer). I used to be a very fast driver as well and I thank God that He will no longer allow it in my life.I'm so thankful that God is truly a God of the small things and that if I'll honestly confess my sin and forsake it, He will clean by His blood. What a glorious thing. Thank you for this thread.

L

lamuskrat Oct 21, 2005

Guilty myself.... In fact I was discussing/explaining (and losing..lol) to God on the way home tonight why I needed to speed and it's just 5 mph over and well all the other lame excuses....the Holy Spirit was really politely nudging me saying "you ought to slow down", "your speeding", "a christian is suppose to obey the law", "you answer to a higher law" Just like God to have someone post this as a slight chastening. Letting me know He saw it, and dissaproved. In a way I'm laughing, not that I was disobedient, for that I will ask forgiveness, but laughing about how God used someone to post this. God knew I was gonna be here (as always)and knew that title would catch my eye.

G

GaryE Oct 22, 2005

I once heard of a policeman who claimed that he could pull anyone over within a mile for some kind of infraction. Apparently, there are so many traffic laws and ways to interpret them that he could do this.If you go one mile an hour over, you are speeding. Don't any of you ever find yourselves going faster than you want? I find myself speeding quite often, though not intentional. In Pennsylvania there are a lot of hills. You can be going the speed limit as you hit a downgrade and all of a sudden your going five miles over.I don't have any conviction about the way I drive even if my car goes over the speed limit somewhere, however, the point we all seem to agree on is that there are no little sins.In Christ,GaryE

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dohzman Oct 22, 2005

Thats funny but man are these lessons painful to the ego and pocket book!

D

dohzman Oct 22, 2005

I wasn't commenting on your comment Brother Ron. I was noting his opening remarks at the top of the post but didn't take the time to place thoughs remarks in quotes to clarify my statement......sorry :-( I'll be more clear next time :-)

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_Disciple_ Oct 22, 2005

I wonder what a non-believer must think when a Christian goes flying by them on the highway (they got a sticker on their car saying they're a believer).yea true point bro!i heard a story once of a cop who halted a women who was driving very fast, and he made her stop. So she asked "why? what is going on" cop checks the license and papers, so the cop says "so it is you car, i saw you driving very fast i thought this car was stolen"i don't have any bumper stickers, i'm not to fond on them, i like my car clean [laughs] and i wonder how my boss would look if i placed a bumper sticker on the taxi i am driving [laughs]However, we should obey the rules, it's not like all christians have to drive like turtles [laughs] to know you are right before God!i just came back from work, and to be honest i wasn't to good, because i could drive in a fast sport car, so that was a moment of failure :-? But one thing has been clear to me, which i didn't mention, and that is the fact of accidents, i mean God has been Gracious when i look at the fact that i am still alive, and nobody got hurt...Kirethanks bro for your reply, i'm overwhelmed by the fact that this is the devotion of today, i want/need to read it [smile]RonAmen! very true! [smile]Dorcasawesome, lucky you that you didn't reached the 12 point, i drove in England myself last year, before my repentance, and almost no speed cam's well only a few when you reached a village, but we were taking green routes on the map...but than i wouldn't drive fast because i wanted to enjoy the beautiful scenary, great beautiful country [smile]markmbro, i had the same, i was the guy who boasted about my driving, make fun of it, and be proud of it...and when a friend was driving with me, i was the one who kind of showed of."God resist the proud and gives Grace to the humble" (Jam 4:6)He gives Grace so you can glorify Him through your driving, please Him, your only Audience, it's about Him! (Psa 115:1)habakkuk3I used to be a very fast driver as well and I thank God that He will no longer allow it in my life.Amen bro, praise God!!lamuskrat God knew I was gonna be here (as always)and knew that title would catch my eye.[laughs] Amen [smile]