My favorite cowboy philosopher, Will Rogers, once said, “The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces.” I used to enjoy watching films of him twirling a rope and sharing home spun wisdom, humor and observations. Reading this particular quote reminded me that the devil doesn’t just put obstacles in our path to trip us up; he also tries to sidetrack us on a “short cut” that doesn’t lead to where we want to go and he provides tempting spots to pull off and park for a while.
The New Testament writers compare the Christian life to an endurance race. Here are just a few examples. “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.’ (Philippians 3:14) “Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.” (Philippians 2:16) ‘You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?” (Galatians 5:7) I have written before that my life as a child of God has truly been a marathon and not a short dash to the finish line.
I think another analogy of my Christian life would be a long road trip that I am still travelling toward my eternal destination. Unlike an endurance race, I make short stops along the way to refuel. I refuel my spirit with prayer, worship, fellowship and Bible study. I refuel my body with food and water. Each night I stop to rest my mind and body so exhaustion does not put an end to my journey. Along the way, I have encountered rough roads, storms and brief detours. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit is with me every mile; guiding me along the route God wants me to take. He points out every opportunity to help others on their trip. He warns me of obstacles and false short cuts that lead away from my destination. And yes, He warns me of those tempting, shady parking spaces the enemy has placed along my way. The Holy Spirit erects “No Parking” signs to keep me focused on my journey.
We often concentrate on the storms and obstacles of the enemy, but his most effective ploy is to make us comfortably parked on our couch or in our easy chair; stopping our Christian journey far from the finish line. As I’ve said many times before, when the Holy Spirit prompts you to action, there are only two choices; do it or regret it. Whether you think of your Christian journey as a race or a road trip; keep on keeping on!