Out of Sequence

At these auto auctions I go to, every vehicle that runs has a lane assignment and a run number. Prior to running they are listed on a run list where you can look up on a computer to check it out and usually I make a list and a plan to be there to try and buy when they are expected to run. But, every now and then because of a starting problem, no gas or some other miscellaneous situation, one will inevitably run "out of sequence".

When I saw one Tuesday, it rang a bell with me. That's where my life used to be 24/7, running in directions contrary to the flow of life. Some who read this can identify with that. Or maybe, just the occassional times when our schedules are interrupted, an unexpected emergency occurs, or we are just plain and simple unable to answer the bell for today, we are left feeling 'out of sequence". Most can definitely understand that.

What is even more serious is when our spiritual life becomes out of order. We stop praying, stop reading, do very little taking to God, and generally try to coast on our previous experiences to make it by. We find ourselves acting differently, reacting out of character, and thinking thoughts we never thought we would think. In the program we call that "stinking thinking".

In Psalm 42, twice this is mentioned word for word, maybe because it is how we feel when we get "out of sequence" in our relationship with the Lord:

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my savior and my God."

Simply put, when we get "out of sequence", hope in the Lord, praise him for helping us get back in line, and let Him direct our path so that we stay there. Then that downcast feeling of being out of sorts, that despair we felt when lost, will be replaced by verse 8 of that same Psalm:

"By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me - a prayer to the God of my life."

Remember that even the very best souls we read about in the Bible got 'out of sequence" from time to time, so feeling temporarily that way is pretty normal. But when we come to Him, when we get that way, we are never out of sequence from His grace and love.

Glenn