Tracks...

Proverbs 3:6 in the Message Bible tells us to “Listen for GOD's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.”  As I studied this particular verse over the weekend and again this morning, I was continually drawn to the last phrase in the scripture.  Many pictures pop into my mind when I consider the idea of staying on ‘track’.  I think about my HO scale slot car set that I enjoyed as a kid when I would switch to larger rear tires on my little white Mustang car to make it look even hotter, but always be dismayed as it would usually jump the ‘track’ as soon as it came to a corner!

Then there’s the thought of coming to a trail junction while hiking in the Sierra’s and having to decide which path or ‘track’ to follow next.  I read this morning of a train that hit a garbage truck somewhere and derailed off the railroad ‘tracks’.  Then I really took a detour down memory lane and recalled the eight ‘track’ players that played Piper’s and I my favorite tunes in my car and in our home during our dating days and early marriage years!

I’m not really sure on how those high tech, for their time players worked, but in my mind’s eye I could see the different ‘tracks’ stacked up on each other like the various stories in a skyscraper.  You could be listening to a song and then right in the middle of the tune it would pause for a moment and you’d hear an audible “click” as the player switched to the next ‘track’ on the cassette.  Then after another pause the song would continue where it left off on the previous ‘track!’

There is a funny scene in the 2001 Billy Graham World Wide Picture’s comedy entitled “Road to Redemption” where two of the characters are riding in an old, but well maintained 1970’s Cadillac on the road from Los Vegas to Arizona.  I won’t take the time to explain the plot but would suggest that you watch it sometime (It is available on Amazon).  It is actually a pretty funny and mostly well-done movie, with a great message.  Anyway, in the scene they are driving on the highway through the desert listening to an old David Cassidy album on the car’s factory installed 8 track player.

Both of the men are reminiscing their youth and are belting out the song together when the player suddenly stops and switches ‘tracks’.  At this point the actors simply freeze and look at each other while the player goes through it clicks and pauses and then immediately continue belting out the song, without missing a beat, when the music finally continues!  You’d probably have had to have an 8 track to fully understand the humor behind the scene.  If you had one and were like me, you most likely knew where the breaks were and simply paused your brain while the player switched ‘tracks’ and then subconsciously turned it back on when the song continued… as if nothing happened!  Hummm… you know… I probably still have the home player I had somewhere in a box around the house…

Well, the idea of our trust in God and His Word keeping us on ‘track’ got me thinking that in our experience through the years, His plans for us usually have many different layers or ‘tracks’ in them that are not always evident or visible to us at the beginning of any stand of faith.  We also learned that once you yield to the Lord’s plan for any situation that you may be dealing with in life, that you begin to see things differently than other’s around you who may only be looking at your circumstances with their natural eyes and understanding.

Hebrews 11:1 informs us that “Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot (yet) see.” (God’s Word ©)  So according to this verse, when in faith, we begin to see things through the eyes of faith which are filled and empowered by Godly expectation!  Once in that mode of operation, it makes sense that we’ll see things that other folks simply miss, because we have ‘clicked’ to another track!  And we’ll keep ‘clicking’ onward and upward to all the ‘tracks’ that are a part of His particular plan for our particular situation and need!

What I do find interesting is that sometimes I hear the ‘click’ bringing us to another ‘track’ within His plan, and sometimes I don’t.  There have been many times that I’ll look back in hindsight and see when we ‘clicked’ to another track, but didn’t necessarily know it at the time… kind of like my 8 track player could switch ‘tracks’ on a song I knew like the back of my hand and I wouldn’t even hear the audible ‘click’ anymore… even though I knew it was coming!

I have come to like, enjoy and look forward to seeing and experiencing the various ‘tracks’ that are a part of God’s individual plans for our lives… what about you?  I may or may not always know when the ‘click’ is coming, but I am assured that it will come as He continues to hold my life in the very palm of His hand with a love and caring that only He can provide for us!

When is the last time that you switched ‘tracks’ in God’s plans for your life?  Have a wonderful week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “Am I knowingly expecting God to ‘click’ me through the various ‘tracks’ of His plans for me throughout my life?”