Who’s Driving Your Worship?

(This week I’m sharing a song that only a few people have heard, and it follows this week’s blog. Please enjoy it and share this post with friends. Thanks! Chris)[audio mp3="http://chrisatkins.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/01-Track-01.mp3"][/audio]Worship is not about mere outward performance, but it IS about submission to God’s peace, direction, and rule in our life…which includes our driving.Last week my wife, daughters, and I were on vacation In Central Florida. One day we were driving down I-75 in the second of three freeway lanes. We were near the speed limit, following the flow of traffic.Then it happened: first one, then two, and then a few more cars came tailgating behind us, weaving across lanes, then went blazing past us —way over the speed limit. Like 10 or 15 miles over the limit. Well, I didn’t do or say anything aggressive towards those people, but I felt the anger rise up in me and I was tempted to speed up to show them “they can’t do that to me”.  Even as I write this, the fact that I even thought that seems totally ridiculous, and by God’s grace I didn’t do anything foolish. But I came away stressed out and it took some time (and a nice dinner!) before I was relaxed again.There is something about driving that sometimes brings out the competitive nature in many of us.The Problem: Aggressive, Angry Drivers and Road RageIncreasingly we see news stories about road rage. Too many of us can also relate personal experiences with aggressive and angry drivers. The roadways of America are not only becoming angrier, they are becoming more dangerous. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us will admit that we have at some time harbored poor attitudes, spoken harsh words, or possibly driven in ways that would be considered aggressive, rude or even dangerous.The Answer: a Nation of PeaceDriversHow can Christ followers live a life of worship in their driving? Only from the inside out. Worship isn’t always easy, especially when our nature wants to take us another direction, including when we drive our vehicles.Worship involves an exchange with God: We yield our own corrupted hearts, thoughts, and attitudes to God and He gives us a new heart, new thoughts, and a new way of living, guided by His Holy Spirit.Our hearts and minds need to be changed by God before our behaviors and emotional responses change.The Apostle Paul wrote to some early Christ followers in a city called Colossae that they were to “Let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts”The word “let” is important because it means we yield, allow, and invite God to “rule” in our thoughts, attitudes, and lives.  This means God isn’t just one more voice in the sea of voices that tell us where to go. His voice is the one we CHOOSE to listen to and follow.So, who is driving your worship when you get behind the wheel?I wonder what would happen if more Christians demonstrated our worship of our risen Lord and Savior as we drive?Wouldn’t it be exciting if Christians across the nation chose to become PeaceDrivers?We are called to be salt and light on the earth. Why not also be “salt and light” on our roadways? Now is the time for Christians to rise up, stem the tide of road rage and aggression, and be a witness to all who travel the roadways. We ask God to empower us by His Holy Spirit whenever we encounter aggressive drivers, traffic jams, and other challenging situations in our road journeys. We seek God’s grace to lead us to pray for other drivers, to bless instead of blame, and to make a difference for Christ on the road. We do not know whom we will meet on the road: the driver we encounter may be the one who is searching for God in their life. Our response to them when they cut in front of us in traffic may make the difference in their response to person who offers to share Christ with them!At the heart of the song PeaceDriver: a call to pray and witness on the road.The song “PeaceDriver” was written and recorded as a “road prayer” to encourage people of faith to make their driving an act of worship and witness. Being a PeaceDriver is asking and allowing God to change us from the inside out. Not only in our driving behaviors, but also in our heart and attitude: yielding to God and allowing him to “take control” of our attitudes, emotions, and behaviors. It begins each time we open the door to our car, when we turn the key in the ignition, with a focus on prayer and witness as we begin to drive.By His power, let us worship God in every aspect of our lives.“Lord, make me a driver of Your peace!”(Thanks to my brother Tom who contributed some of the writing of the blog this week! )