My Drive to Georgia

So as I was driving on Sunday, I was in the middle of North Carolina when I had my heart checked. Wow what an experience. I had just finished listening to a devotional CD and turned on some praise music. It was a nice time to just be quiet and spend some time talking to the Lord. I had the car set on cruise control and the freeway was wide open; people don’t really travel on Sunday mornings. I looked to the side of the road and saw the speed limit sign; it said 65 mph. For whatever reason, despite the fact that I had it set on cruise control, I looked down to check my speed. I was doing roughly 72 – 73 mph, nothing that a trooper would pull you over for. That’s when the Holy Spirit had something to say. Here I had just been praying that God would use me to do great and mighty things for Him and His Kingdom and that I would be like King David – a man after God’s own heart – and He said, if you know something is wrong but you also know that if you do it you won’t get caught, would you still do it? Of course I said, “No Way!” Then He said, yet the law of land states that you are legally allowed to drive 65 mph and no more. Doing 66 mph would be breaking the law! You know in your heart that it is wrong but you also know that you won’t be penalized for going over 1 mph, over even up to 9 mph, yet you still do it.

Then I started to talk back, “But NO ONE does the speed limit! It won’t hurt going a few over! No one will even care!” And He said, yes, but I care. How can you expect to become a man after God’s own heart if you can’t even do something as simple as drive the speed limit? Is that not integrity? To know what is right in a situation, even when no one else knows or cares, and to still do it. For when you are faithful with the little things, I know you will be faithful with greater things. If you can’t even have integrity when you’re driving on the highway in a car you can control, how will you be faithful when the ‘sticky’ issues of life face you that require integrity? I fell under a very heavy conviction by the Holy Spirit and immediately repented and put my speedometer to the speed limit the rest of the trip. I have to say, it was extremely tough for me to do; even big 18-wheelers were passing me on the freeway as I did the speed limit! I got some pretty dirty looks and caused quite a few to get upset with my speed. But if that’s the price to pay for being a man of integrity on the road, then that’s what I’m willing to pay. Besides, I don’t have to answer to them; I answer to God for my actions.