Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - What to Do When You're Hydroplaning - #5174

Thursday, November 9, 2006

My wife says I usually try to cram one more thing in before I leave for an appointment and then I make it up on the road. Well, that works OK if the weather's on my side. But then there are those really rainy days. You know, you're zipping down the highway at top speed, and suddenly you feel yourself losing control of your rear wheels. Now, if you'd like a fancy word for that experience, you are hydroplaning! Water builds up under those tires of yours so you're skimming along on water rather than pavement. This is not good. The rear of your car starts to go somewhere you don't want it to go. If that's ever happened to you, you know it's a scary feeling to start hydroplaning - you're going too fast, and you're starting to lose control.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What to Do When You're Hydroplaning."

King David was hydroplaning when he wrote our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 42:3-7 . Things were moving really fast and he was losing control. Now, any similarity to your situation is, of course, purely coincidental.

David says, "My tears have been my food day and night ... Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? ... My soul is downcast within me ... all Your waves, Lord, and breakers have swept over me." David's hurting, David's slipping, David's overwhelmed!

I was there not too long ago. My challenges were a lot bigger than my resources. I felt like my faith was like a queen-sized fitted sheet on a king-sized bed; it just couldn't stretch far enough to cover it. I was overwhelmed and I was anxious. I felt like I'd never catch up. I've been there before; I'll probably be there again. But that day I wandered into this psalm, Psalm 42 , where I was hit with a probing question which turned out to be the answer. Now, if you're feeling yourself hydroplaning right now, maybe it's an answer for you, too.

In Psalm 42:2 , David asks, "When can I go and meet with God?" Like David, I needed to stop my spinning world and get away with God. So I got away for 24 hours with just my Bible and my notepad, and I met with God. That may be your Lord's prescription for you right now. To which you probably respond, "No way, man! There's just too much for me to just stop!" That's why you need to. You're losing control. You have to slow down to listen to your Lord for an extended, uninterrupted, unhurried period of time.

Then write down what you're feeling and thinking as you listen to Him. Ask your Lord for a fresh look at the people in your life, at the pressures, and at your priorities. Ask Him to help you see the forest again; you've been overwhelmed by the trees! And in His presence, set some priorities. Make some plans and weed some things out. You can trust what you are sensing in an extended time with God. And those need to be on a lot more regular basis.

So, if you're traveling at a high speed right now and you feel yourself losing control, first of all, slow down! You need to carve out time away where your Lord can show you what He wants, what He sees when He looks at the people in your life, when He looks at the situations in your life, and when He looks at the needs in your life. Remember, you have to be still to know that He is God.

So, the number one question you have to answer right now is this: "When can I go and meet with God?"