In the Groove

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1 ESV). When the psalmist wrote this psalm, he spoke of a path that would bring prosperity. His advice is very clear to us. If we delight in doing everything the Lord wants, then we are assured of life. It is another way of saying we need to get “in the groove.” Some years ago I had the opportunity to drive a Winston Cup racer for ten laps at the Texas Motor Speedway. It was quite an experience! For those of you who have watched this kind of racing, you know the speeds can reach in excess of 150 mph! I didn’t get going that fast, though I did reach 135-140 mph. It was thrilling to say the least! There were many things to learn before I ever got in the car. The group I was in spent an hour going over safety features of the car, driving techniques, and most importantly, the line to take when driving the course. The instructor drew the best line on a display of the racetrack. Step by step, he took us through the straight-aways and the turns. He showed us when to be high on the track and when to dive in low. To further instruct us, he took us on the track in a passenger van and drove the course with us. It is amazing to think of traveling at over 90 mph in a 15-passenger van! But, that’s exactly what we did. Finally the time came to get in the car and start my own laps. We were pushed off pit row and by the time we got off the apron we were already going over 100 mph! The first three laps were increased steadily as I learned the groove: slowing down where necessary, speeding up where it was necessary, riding high in the line, or diving down into the turn. After that, it was wide-open speed! Even when it looked like he couldn’t be right, I realized very quickly that the only way to drive the course successfully was to do exactly as he said. As I would come up out of the straightaway, it was necessary to go high, straight at the wall. The first time I did it, it looked like I was going to hit it! But, as I got there and saw how it dove off into the turn, it made all the sense in the world. What a thrill to see a checkered flag at the end of my laps signaling I had completed the course successfully! Out Christian lives are to be run like that! There is a groove that the Lord has established for everyone. It is clearly marked through the Scripture. The more we read and study the Scripture, the more we are able to recognize the way we are to go. It would have been disastrous to ignore my instructor. Are you listening to your instructor in life? If you do, you are guaranteed a “checkered flag” at the end of the race!