Stay In Your Own Lane

#177of365 #FaithBites #FaithJourney # Lane

One of the first things you learn in drivers ed is about staying in your own lane. Don’t swerve too far to the left or the right or you will hit someone. This is your lane and you move forward in it. If you need to change your lane, you signal the direction you want to go. Think of this as both a signal to others on what you intend to do as well as asking permissions as you will be occupying the same lane as someone else.

Many times in life, we swerve left and right, not only crossing into the other lane but sometimes into oncoming traffic. This erratic swerving causes danger for us and for everyone around us. As I’ve mentioned before, work is hectic. Starting a new school has a million and one things to do. There are people assigned to those tasks, people who want to help, and then there are folks worried about every last detail not in their lane. This not only prevents them from doing their own work but causes undue friction and strife for those who are staying in their lane, trying to avoid people swerving into their lane.

When we say “Love God, Love People”, we also need to know when to stay in our lane. We can ask to help, we can ask for clarification, but at the end of the day, it is not your responsibility. Remember, we talked about Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys.

The Lord gives us great strength and gifts, we need to remember to use them.

Scripture on Staying in Your Own Lane

“So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.” – Deuteronomy 5:32

” You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right – you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. ” – Psalm 119:1 (MSG)

Reflection and Charge

Turning to the right or left can be exciting. It’s a new adventure. It gives us a break from what we are doing and lets us set our sights on something fresh and new. The problem is, this isn’t our lane or our path. It’s someone else’s to walk down. We have to finish our journey and walk steadily on God’s road. There is enough stress, hardship, and confusion in the world that we don’t need to add more to it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really easy to get distracted and wrapped up in something else. It gives us a new hope to solve a problem. But the problem isn’t ours to solve. This causes us to direct resources away from our tasks and leads to us stepping on someone’s toes. We don’t do it on purpose, in fact, we do it with the best intentions. We need to know how our actions impact others. If we are to “Love God, Love People” we focus on that in all of our actions.

Are you willing to stay in your own lane? Can you see how your good intentions can hurt others? Are you ready to walk down the road revealed to you by God?

I am willing and ready with the help of God.