HUMPS AND POTHOLES
These days as a driver in Trinidad you have to be able to deal with many humps and potholes.
They are all over the place and you need to be very careful when you driving to deal with them in the right way. Some you are able to avoid and some you jus have go through.
Have you ever considered Joseph(Old Testament)? In his life he had many humps and Potholes. He had a very rough life.
He was his fathers favorite son, because of this his brothers got jealous of him and tried to kill him, then they sold him away as a slave.
As a slave he gained his masters trust. Then he ended up in jail. He spent a long time in prison and then he was made prime minister of Egypt.
Today I want to talk about three important things we must do in order to be safe on this road of life.
1. DRIVE SLOWLY
We must learn to be Patient
This woman had her car stall in heavy traffic. The cars began to back up as she tried again and again to start it. A chorus of honking horns started going off behind her. She got out looking under the bonnet as the horns continued. Finally she walked back to the first driver behind her & said,
“I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to get my car started. If you’ll go up there & give it a try, I’ll stay here & blow your horn for you."
When we hear the word Patience another word comes to mind. Waiting!
Almost always this proves to be a very difficult thing to do.
I read about a person who was praying for patience. The prayer went like this;
“Lord give me patience and give it to me now”
I think this person really needs some patience.
The most difficult part of a battle is the waiting.
Soldiers ready and prepared to do battle with the enemy, but must wait until the order is given to charge!
We must not rush ahead, but we must learn to wait.
Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Now I want to talk about a man of great patience.
Now Job was very faithful to God, he feared God and he lived a righteous and blameless life. God blessed Job. He had ten children and he owned many sheep, camels, oxen and donkeys. He also had many servants.
And then all of a sudden disaster! Job’s life is ravaged, his children are killed in a freak of nature, his properties are all stolen or destroyed, and all his servants are murdered as well. Sores come out on his skin.
Later on we will find out why these things happened to Job. But what I want to point out now is that in spite of all these things that happened in Job’s life he remained patient and faithful to God.
Eventually God smiled upon Job again and blesses him even more than he had blessed him before.
2. BE ALERT – ( look out for Danger)
Satan is not going to let us live a comfortable life as Christians. He is always out to get us and bring us down.
John 10:10 “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy”
I believe that the thief that Jesus is speaking about here is Satan.
In the same way that a driver is always alert to any humps and potholes. We must be on the alert for satan and his plots against us.
Now we shall find out about how Job’s life was devastated.
Read Job 1: 8 – 12
Job was blameless and upright and he feared God and God blessed him tremendously.
Now satan could not allow this. He wanted to rob Job of all his blessings and destroy his life.
We need to be alert and on the look out because Satan is not going to let us live in peace.
Satan is out to steal and kill and destroy! So be alert.
3. REFUEL – (make sure you have enough fuel)
In the same way a driver needs to make sure his vehicle has fuel at all times we need to make sure we are filled with the word of God.
We need to spend time with God by both reading his word and praying to him.
We know that Joseph was able to interpret dreams.
Genesis 41: 15 – 16 “ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it”. “I cannot do it ,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
So Joseph said that he alone cannot interpret the dream. But through God he was able to do it.
From this we know that Joseph was very close to God and that he must have spent a lot of time praying and meditating on God.
I believe that because of this time he spent with God Joseph was able to keep strong through all these Humps and potholes he went through.
After the forty days and forty nights that Jesus fasted in the desert satan confronted him.
Satan tempted Jesus three times. And all three times Jesus used scripture to rebuke satan.
Read Matthew 4:1 – 11
So we must spend time getting to know God and keep his word in our hearts. By doing this we will be well equipped to deal with Satan when he comes against us.
CONCLUSION
So today we have seen how our lives can be a road filled with humps and potholes. We have learnt three important things that we should do in order to be safe on this road of life.
• Drive slowly – be patient
• Be Alert – Look out for danger
• Refuel – spend time with God. Reading his word and praying.
So drive safely.
=> PRAYER
