by LaNelle
Recently, we were able to get a new vehicle to replace the old Jeep (it has proven itself with nearly 250,000 miles). I didn’t want a lot of fancy features, so this Buick doesn’t have all the bells and whistles (I’ll miss the seat warmer option this winter!), but it does have a feature called Lane Assist.
The Lane Assist feature on my car consists of a little picture of a car angling slightly to the left, which lights up when the option is turned on. Then, the little picture of the car flashes and the car makes a little “Beep, beep, beep” sound if you cross over the center line or the outside line of the road. It is designed to get your attention if you lose focus or fall asleep and wander into an area you shouldn’t be driving in. Lane Assist is a good thing. It could prevent accidents and even save lives. It is installed in new vehicles to help drivers.
The problem is that sometimes I am a little bit sloppy in my driving. There’s not a lot of traffic on the road I usually travel, and although I consider myself a good and careful driver (no tickets on my record ☺), I am not always as careful and conscientious as I ought to be. So, I have to admit that this new little feature annoys me with the little “Beep, beep, beep” that it makes when I am just a teensy bit careless. At first, I was even inclined to turn off the option because in my pride I thought, “I don’t need that.”
If we are followers of Christ Jesus, He has given the Holy Spirit to us to help us. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Like the Lane Assist feature, the Holy Spirit will warn us when we are wandering from God’s way for us. If we are proud and consider ourselves to be doing just fine (which we measure according to our own standards, not God’s), the Holy Spirit’s warnings might be annoying to us. The Holy Spirit can save us from disaster, though. His leading can bring us closer to the destination that God has purposed for us.
As believers, there may be times when we are tempted to stop paying attention to the Holy Spirit’s warnings. It would be foolish for me to turn off the Lane Assist feature in my new car, but much more foolish for me to ignore the Holy Spirit’s gentle reminders to guide me back into God’s truth. In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Paul states, “Do not quench the Spirit.”
I’m thankful that God has given us a Helper who does much, much more than provide a warning when we get off course. Now, when my Lane Assist feature beeps at me, I realize that it is designed to help me become a better driver. And I am reminded that the Holy Spirit, too, is given to me by my Heavenly Father to help me navigate this life in a better way. Thank you, Lord!
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