03.17.06

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. - Galatians 5:22-26.

It is not good to eat much honey; so to seek one’s own glory is not glory. Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls. - Proverbs 25:27-29.

In the previous devotional, the story was told of an out-of-control car, which was not caused by the driver. Sometimes our lives, like that of Ruth or Daniel, may be out-of-control but not because of anything that we have done or have not done. Circumstances, life, and the decisions of others have brought it about. Here is another story about a car crash. It has many interesting facets and I would encourage you to look it up on the Internet.

On February 21, 2006 at 6:08am, a Ferrari Enzo, which was one of only 400 built and is a million dollar car, crashed. It was literally sliced into by a power pole when it hit the pole traveling at an estimated 162 mph. It happened in Malibu, California near Decker Canyon on the Pacific Coast Highway. Obviously, the vehicle was going at an excessive speed far in excess of the speed limit. At such a high rate of speed, even a small rock in the road could cause problems. Something happened which made the vehicle go out-of-control. Could have been that the driver was drunk although the owner claims that he was not driving (The owner’s alcohol level was more than the permissible level), and that it was some German driving. He just knew the man’s first name and claims the man took off. If there was such a person, he has not been found yet. The owner claimed something about a Mercedes SLR racing them and also about working for Homeland Security. A witness saw the Ferrari go airborne shortly before it was sliced in two when it hit the power pole.

The wreck of the Ferrari was directly related to the actions of the person driving the vehicle. It was a preventable accident. It did not have to happen. In the same way, there are so many lives that are picking up speed - going faster and faster heading for a crash. The resulting crash will not have been caused by circumstances, bad luck, or any specific situation. No, it will have been cause by a lack of self-control. This kind of crash caused by an out-of-control life is preventable. It does not have to happen!

The writer of Proverbs put it well when he portrays an out-of-control life as being like "a city broken down, without walls.” 

Such a life is unprotected and open to attack by any enemy or predator. It is a dangerous way to live and a life lived persistently in that way will not have a happy ending.

The good news is that it does not have to be that way. The driver of the Ferrari could have taken his foot off the accelerator and prevented his crash. You can do the same. You can take your foot off the accelerator that is causing your life to go spinning faster and faster out-of-control. How do you do it? It is really quite simple and at the same time very hard. You have to surrender control of your life, completely, totally, for all time to the Lord God. Let Him drive for a while. Tell Him you are more than a little tired of messing your life up and that you really need His help. Through the Holy Spirit, He will begin to take control and bring your speeding life down to a safe and survivable speed.