Where Are Your Feet?

June 28, 2018

Early morning is not usually the best part of my day. I tend to wake with the sun, but that only refers to my eyes, not my brain. Our men’s 6:00 am prayer time was only minutes away, so I was in a hurry, which only exacerbated my normal morning incoherence. Jumping in my truck, I turned the key in the ignition, threw the shifter into reverse, and backed out of my parking spot under the huge Norway Spruce. All was going well until I shifted into first gear and released the clutch. The motor shuddered in protest. I depressed the clutch, made sure I was in first gear, and tried again. My truck lurched a couple feet and died. It started right up, but as I released the clutch and pressed the accelerator, the motor once again trembled and stopped. 

What could possibly be wrong? Only two days ago, I had taken it nearly a thousand miles into and back from Canada. It was then that I noticed it. In my haste, I had shifted my right foot just an inch or so to the left. Instead of tromping on the gas, I was hitting the brake as I released the clutch. No way my little truck was going anywhere under those conditions!

It made me wonder. How many times in life have I thought I was hitting the gas, but actually had my foot on the brake? How about those times I engaged in verbal sparring over Facebook political posts? I had the pedal to the floor...or so I thought. In reality, I was hitting the relational brakes. Or when I let someone take over a teaching position in the church because she was articulate and well-versed in Scripture, but I had looked the other way regarding some heart issues that were clear enough to see? Or those times when instead of confronting an issue, I let it play itself out, to the detriment of those who through no fault of their own were caught up in the backwash of it.

None of these incidents were intentional, any more than I deliberately put my foot on the brakes this morning. But unintentional sins and shortcomings can bring things to a shuddering stop just as surely as those more egregious sins to which we give more of our attention. 

As I write this, I feel a bit embarrassed to admit to such a silly error this morning, but I am thankful for the opportunity it has given me to examine an area of my heart that I have tended to overlook. I don’t want to hit the brakes on God’s purposes in my life, even unintentionally. With his help, I’ll pay more attention to where I put my spiritual feet, and maybe...just maybe...this old vehicle will spring to life and chug down the road as it was intended to do.