in your lane ...

‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper and every tongue which rises against you in judgment is already condemned’  Isaiah 54:17

 

Stay in your lane –

It is usually said flippantly as a polite – not at all polite – way to say,

Mind your own business!

Yet, sometimes we need to remind ourselves and speak this to our own selves

 

But, what does that look like, practically and spiritually?

It looks like us fixing our eyes, minds and hearts on the right things

It is you & I staying out of matters that are not in our control

It is each one of us rejecting the impulse to ‘counsel’ God

It is each one of us focusing on all we know to do that is right

We stay in our lane and God stays in His lane … as only He can do

There is a story in the book of Esther –

Esther was a young Jewish girl. She was taken to the palace of the king and eventually became queen where she was tasked with being a voice to help save her people. It is a wonderful Bible account and one which had lasting implications. We will delve into Esther’s story later this year. But today, I would like to focus on the backstory of Esther’s cousin Mordecai.

 

Mordecai raised Esther after the death of her parents. He also served faithfully in the king’s court. However, he was hated and despised by a man named Haman – a man who would ultimately be responsible for plotting the destruction of the Jewish people [the very plot Esther had to fight against]. But before Haman set out to destroy all of the Jewish people, he set his sights on destroying one particular Jewish person, Mordecai – even erecting a gallows on which to hang Mordecai.  

Long story short, Mordecai ‘stayed in his lane’ by continuing to focus on what he knew to be right. He did not have to worry or think about any of Haman’s evil plotting against him individually. The Bible does not note whether Mordecai was even aware of Haman’s plot to attack him personally – to take his life and rob him of a future. Mordecai did not know – but God was fully aware of everything that was transpiring. And Haman ended up getting caught in the very trap he set for another. He reaped what he attempted to sow into the life of Mordecai, ultimately being hanged on the very same gallows which were erected at his command. And Mordecai kept living, traveling in his God-ordained lane.

Understand and know –

As we ‘stay in our lane’ … we free God to fully occupy His lane

We remove troublesome ‘traffic’ from His lane & what He is doing

Not that we could thwart the plans of God;

God is an expert at being & showing who He is

Yet we frustrate ourselves when we jump lanes and try to be God; and while we may want them to ‘get got’ now, God knows best

The battle is not ours – it belongs to the LORD

He is perfectly capable of working out His plans for us

He has good plans –  to prosper and not to harm, to give a hope and future (Jer. 29:11) and He promises that no weapon formed against us shall prosper.

He puts all things, situations – and people – in their designated lane

But, He does it in His time … in His way.

Esther is one of two books in the Bible that does not mention God

            But His presence and providence is evident

Likewise – you may not be able to see God in your current situation

            But He is ever working for your good and for His glory

No weapon formed against you shall prosper.

They can lie, cheat, manipulate and plot to steal from you

But, what God has for you is for you – and when He determines it is time for you to move forward, to spring forward into the plans and purposes that He has for you, nothing can stop it!

 

‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him,

who have been called according to His purpose.’

Romans 8:28