Objects Are Closer Than They Appear

Objects are closer than they appear. How many times have you seen this phrase on the passenger side mirrors of most vehicles these days? Quite frequently I'm sure. What the auto manufacturers have done, is to increase the visual range of passenger side mirrors; which gives a better view of the "blindside" of your own vehicle. But in doing so, the objects that you see in these mirrors, appear to be farther away from your vehicle than they really are. In a lane changing situation, improper judgment of another vehicles' distance could cause a tragic accident.
As we travel down the highway of life, there will be many lanes that we may have to change to from time to time. It’s during these lane changes that we become the most vulnerable to the objects in life that could cause us a tragic accident.
As we breeze down an open stretch of the highway of life, this gives us indication that our life is going rather smooth, with possibly only a handful of potholes to mention. But just as soon as things appear to be going okay, there come the objects in life trying to trip you up, attempting to cause you to lose control of your life.” I can handle it".Yeah, that's what we all say.
So you have let up in your prayer life and reading God's word doesn't seem to be as important as it once did. Oh yes, you still go to church, but now it seems to be more routine than sincere desire. So through the course of slipping up on the important things, you begin to find an interest again, in some of the things that you had once turned away from when you initially came to the Lord.
So you begin to flirt with them. You may even allow them to become a part-time part of your life again. You think that you are strong enough as not to allow them to become a habit or even worse, an obsession; but unknowingly to you, these objects in your life are closer than they appear. But even worse; for all of the objects that you do see, especially those that you are already flirting with, there are even still, more objects in your blindside that you do not see. These are the ones that creep up on you from behind when your guard is down, especially since you are flirting with other things already.
Weakness, we all have it. For some, it will be certain things in their lives that they may possibly have been exposed to before coming to Christ. For others, it may be in entirely different areas of their lives in relation to their own individual weakness.
When we maintain our prayer life and read God's word, this will enable us to have strength and power over these weak areas of our lives. But when we do not, these weak areas become the objects in our lives that are closer than they appear.
As we barrel down our own life's highway, let us pull off from time to time to fill up our spiritual gas tanks, by praying and reading God's word. The pace of this life is from fast to overdrive, and a daily time in prayer and reading God's word, is the only way to keep our spiritual tanks full, allowing us to run in "holiness maintenance throughout this life.
Allow the mirrors of your heart to reflect the wide, visual range of the ugliness of sin in this world; and do not allow your weaknesses to become objects in your life, because they will be closer than they appear.
Dec 4,1997