In my last blog, I wrote about the truck fire last year, where God spared my two adult kids and me from injury. Sure, it was scary, but He sent people to help us, and we learned about His faithfulness and His sovereignty through the situation. But the journey did not end that fiery night. The search for a replacement truck was WAY harder than I anticipated. No matter how often I looked, I was either too late, or I found something wrong with the truck. Just when I was ready to give up, God provided a vehicle that met our needs and was within our budget. Truly a miracle. My daughter, Erin, and I drove to Fort Worth to pick it up, and on the way back (with me driving my old car and Erin driving the much newer truck) we had a conversation at a rest stop.

Me: Okay, I drove first for the last couple hours, do you want to lead now?

Erin: Finally!!! I can drive the speed limit.

Me: What do you mean? I set the cruise control to 75. You only have temporary plates, so I didn’t want you to get a ticket.

Erin: You NEVER hit 75. And sometimes you were driving below 70.

Me: (Puzzled Look)

Erin: You know, when I borrowed your car before, I passed by those speed radars, and I was always five under the limit. Maybe your cruise control is off?

Me: Maybe. Just set the cruise control on the truck to the speed limit, and I will follow.

Want to guess what my speedometer read when I followed Erin? Yep— 80. It felt like I was going faster than I was, but I am pretty sure we were just driving the speed limit at 75.

The way I trusted my old car is like the way I proceed in life when I don’t let God determine everything by His Word. You see, if I go by what I can see and feel, I THINK I am going fast. I trust my experiences and opinions. It’s not any better when I adjust my speed to those around me, because then I determine what’s accurate by comparison. And when I trust technology, I rely on rationality. NONE of that is truthful. Like my cruise control, my radar for determining truth is broken. That’s where faith comes in. God’s radar is not broken.

Just like my old cruise control, I need to recalibrate. How do I make my radar match God’s?

1. Romans 3:4 says, “Let God be True but Every Man a Liar.” In life, we have access to absolute truth, and that’s the Bible. Defer to God. He has the first and final say in what is true.

2. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Actively fight thoughts that don’t match the Bible. If I ever think God is not good, kind, faithful, holy, or just, I am believing a lie. If I am truly honest, I can look back and see He has never let me down.

3. John 14:18 says, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” It’s impossible to win the fight to recalibrate our thoughts without the Holy Spirit. Ask God daily for help. Ask Him to reform and reshape your thoughts to be like His. Jesus has promised all believers the same power that He lived by, but it’s up to us to ask for it.

Truth can feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Perhaps that’s why we revert to our old way of thinking so often. But when I do know what God has said, all I can really do is spend the rest of my life fighting, really fighting, to live in truth. And in that we can find freedom.

And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). Be strong, be consistent, and fight the good fight in God’s power today.

– Written by Jill

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