Gas Prices
18 February 2008 
While on the road recently, I drove past this old gas station and I just had to stop and take this picture. Can you remember when gas was this cheap? It was really just a few years ago, but it seems like forever doesn’t it? As a drove away, I started thinking about how quickly things in life can change. In the past few years, I have experienced a lot of changes in my life, personally, physically, and spiritually. In recent years, Amy and I have watched our family grow from two, to three, to now four. Actually, we are now at five, if you count Bryley our new five-month old Golden Retriever.
Just within the past year, a lot of change has occurred in my life. I became an ordained pastor. I went to Guatemala. My best friend moved to another state. My wife left her job of thirteen years. My oldest daughter started kindergarten. My brother announced he and his wife are expecting a child. My Arkansas Razorbacks finally beat LSU, the #1 ranked team in the country at the time. My two books Watch This and This Is Me hit stores nationally. And, I was invited to have dinner with Bono of U2 and discuss the effects religion can have on pop culture. Okay, so the last one isn’t true. But, such an offer would be very cool!
I bet if you took an inventory of the last year or two of your life, you too could comprise a list of various changes. Some exciting. Some daunting. Some as drastic and frustrating as soaring gas prices.
However, consider for a moment your relationship with God. Here is one area in life where you do have tremendous control over whether or not the relationship changes. When you rewind the years of your life three, two, or even just one year, what do you see in reference to how your relationship with God has changed? Has it changed? If so, in what way?
Psalm 119:97-104 (MSG) says:
“Oh how I love all you’ve revealed; I reverently ponder it all day long.
Your commands give me an edge…
I’ve even become smarter than my teachers since I’ve pondered and absorbed your counsel.
I’ve become wiser…
I watch my step, avoiding the ditches and ruts of evil so I can spend all my time keeping your Word.
I never make detours from the route you laid out, you gave me such good directions.
With your instruction I understand life…”
I love the words of this passage of Scripture because the writer is thanking God for guiding His life. But he is also confirming his own personal role he has played in this guiding process. He confirms that he has never made detours stepping outside of God’s will. How? Because he has done his part to make God’s Word alive in his life. He has spent time pondering and absorbing God’s Word. And, the payoff has made him wiser and given him greater understanding about life.
Can you say that where you are today compared to where you were in previous years is evidence of your choice to do your part in the process of growing closer to God? Think about this – what if you had to display a sign on your locker at school or in your front yard similar to the ones displayed at gas stations everywhere that revealed to the world a number representing the “price” you’ve paid to know God more? What do you think that number would be? If you could go back a few years and take a photo of that number, and then, compare it to the number displayed today, would there be any change? Would the number have increased? Decreased? Remained the same?
Psalm 109 says, “My life is as close as my own hands, but I don’t forget what you’ve revealed.” The writer is saying that even in times when life is dangerous and risky, he doesn’t forget the truths God has revealed to him in His Word. Life change is inevitable. And, though there are some things that we can control, many of these changes can happen in a blink, in a moment, and often, we can find ourselves with as little control over the situation as most of us have over the price we now pay at the pump. As you continue throughout this year, there are certain to be many uncertainties. But know this, committing to take God’s Word with you on the journey, will never leave you feeling robbed at the pump.
I am married to Amy. I have two daughters, Bailey and Brynnan. Though we rarely have a winning season, I am a Razorback fan. I am a pastor, author, and communicator. I love teens, ice tea, Mac, and I believe any day is a good day when it is spent on my boat.
