Spiritual Equipment

In a past post I shared about a unique item I keep in my car at all times - beach glass. For years I have kept a few stray pieces of beach glass in the center console to remind me that God can make the broken beautiful. It is His specialty and every time I look down and catch a glimpse of the tiny pieces of smooth blue and green glass I remember that God will use the storms and waves of my life to make me beautiful, too.
Beach glass is an essential part of my car's equipment, as important to me as the jumper cables I keep in the trunk and turbo engine under the hood. The beach glass is my car's spiritual equipment. Since the beach glass has been such a blessing and encouragement to me throughout the years I decided to dedicate more of my car's center console space to God's promises.
So I bought a little silver cross necklace and placed it among the beach glass to serve as a constant reminder of Christ's sacrifice. When I look at it I remember to put the cross always before me and to live for Christ alone. The world and all of its trouble fades into the distance when my gaze is fixated on the cross.
And then, just a few inches from the cross and the glass is a stone, smoothed and perfected by a skilled craftsman. On the stone is written a Biblical promise, a simple verse, Proverbs 2:8. "For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones." 
Each day I climb in and out of my car countless times and if I'm honest most times I fail to actually read the words on the stone. I glance down at the gear shift and my eyes catch a glimpse of the sand stone keepsake in the center console but they fail to pause, read the words and internalize the message. More often than not I throw the car into drive or reverse and never meditate on the truth staring me in the face. 
But today I turned the car on and, just as I was about to put my foot on the break, something inside of me paused. I pulled my foot back and gazed down. First I saw the cross, then the beach glass and then the stone. Slowly and deliberately I read the words silently to myself and a flood of relief washed over me. It was as if I were reading the stone for the very first time, as if the message were entirely new. As if it were the first time I had heard the good news of God's steadfast protection and provision. 
I realized in that moment how often I read God's word, see His goodness and take in pictures of His sacred truth and fail to internalize the message. I go through the motions without letting the magnitude and gravity of the promises of God settle in my heart and give me true peace. God is constantly flooding my life with love letters and daily reminders yet in haste and routine I so often miss them. If only I would pause for a moment I would see that God is all around me offering me the bedrock of His promises and truth.
If today you find yourself feeling abandoned, wondering if God has left you alone on your car ride of life, I promise you He has not left your side. Remain faithful and remain fixated on His promises. Take a moment before you put the car in drive to look to your Guide and Protector and remember that He is there with you. He'll never leave you alone on your journey. 
Sometimes you and I fail to see Him. We go through the motions and never stop, look and listen. We look right past the Cornerstone. We just want to drive. But God is patient and He is waiting for us. His promises aren't going anywhere and neither is His protection. Remain faithful, dear friend. Remain faithful and fixated on Christ, the solid rock on which we can always stand.