I thought I’d share something that God taught me this past week:
Driving in thick fog can be a scary endeavor. It’s never a comfortable feeling when you can’t see very far in front of you, when you’re crossing a lane of traffic and can’t see if anyone is coming in the other direction or when you don’t know what is in your path. Driving a car in fog is a lot like flying an airplane through the clouds (or so I’ve been told!). In either situation, you have to trust your instruments.
In an airplane, the pilot relies on a myriad of instruments to tell him if the plane is straight and level, if his speed is consistent and if he’s still on course. Similarly, when driving a car through fog, the driver has to concentrate on things like the yellow stripes on the road, guardrails, even the side of the road where the pavement ends and the grass begins.
I’ve found that much of life is like flying through clouds or driving through fog – we can’t always see what lies ahead and that makes us uncomfortable and anxious. And so we strive to control our world as much as possible because we don’t know how, or choose not, to trust our instruments.
Unlike the instruments in an airplane or car, however, that are capable of malfunction or user error, our instrument – the Lord, will never fail. He will always lead us safely out of the fog to where we are supposed to go. In fact, rather than think of the fog as an inconvenience or danger, we can be thankful for it because it forces us to trust God for the here and now as well as the future.
Keeping our focus on God’s presence in the present ensures that we not get so anxious about what we cannot see in our future. Here is a recent example:
My oldest son has to be at the end of our driveway between 6:45 and 7:00 in the morning to catch his bus to school. One day this week as we pulled out of the garage in the dark of the morning, we quickly realized that it was extremely foggy as well. We proceeded down the driveway when all of a sudden through the dense fog, we realized that several large tree limbs and a large section of tree trunk had come down in the middle of the night and were now blocking our driveway. Since it was almost time for the bus to arrive and my husband was still recovering from back surgery and was unable to lift anything, our only option was to try to move the tree sections ourselves. After several attempts and with only minutes to spare before the bus arrived, we were able to move the limbs enough to get through. We both got back in the van feeling rather exhilarated and proud about what we had just accomplished … we had encountered and obstacle in the darkness and fog and we had overcome it!
We talked about the situation several times throughout the day and into the evening, but I failed to see any powerful life application until the next morning when I opened my morning “Jesus Calling” devotional …
“As you look at the day before you, you see a twisted, complicated path, with branches going off in all directions. You wonder how you can possibly find your way through that maze. Then you remember the One who is with you always, holding you by your right hand. You recall My promise to guide you with My counsel, and you begin to relax. As you look again at the path ahead, you notice that a peaceful fog has settled over it, obscuring your view. You can see only a few steps in front of you, so you turn your attention more fully to Me and begin to enjoy My presence.
The fog is a protection for you, calling you back into the present moment. Although I inhabit all of space and time, you can communicate with Me only here and now. Someday the fog will no longer be necessary, for you will have learned to keep your focus on Me and on the path just ahead of you.” (Jesus Calling, Sarah Young)
I had personally never before seen much good in fog – the real kind that shrouds my vision and makes getting around difficult or the kind that clouds the future and makes me uncertain and anxious. But now I see that fog can be a blessing.
Had that particular morning not been foggy and I had been able to see the large section of tree blocking my driveway, I probably would’ve become anxious and upset about how we were going to get out. But because the morning was thick with fog, the obstacle was not revealed any sooner than it needed to be. And in that moment when I was able to get a glimpse of what lay before me, there wasn’t even time to become concerned. Instead I was able to instantly respond to the situation and work together with my son to remove the obstacle from my path so we could proceed forward.
Having my future covered in fog produces the same outcome. It allows me to be fully engaged in the present rather than worrying about what may or may not happen in the future. And it reminds me to trust in my God who will burn off the fog with his radiant brightness only when His timing is perfect.
I don’t think I’ll ever look at a foggy day the same way. From now on, when I’m faced with a foggy morning or a foggy future, I hope that I will take that opportunity to thank God for the fog because I know that He uses it to protect me and teach me to trust Him more.
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