Stop the Motion!

READ: Psalm 86

Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth.

The only way to stop motion sickness once it kicks in is to stop moving. No kidding! But what if you’re stuck on a boat an hour from shore? Or trapped on a 3-hour flight, becoming good friends with the little white bag in the seat pocket?

Motion sickness happens when your senses send mixed signals to your brain. The fluid in your ears feels the movement but your eyes don’t see it, or vice versa—and let’s not even “bring up” what happens to your stomach!

Your ears and eyes are doing the best they can with the information they’re taking in, but they both can’t be right. It’s the same with the mixed signals you get about who God is. The world and the Bible both can’t be right.

What do these signals tell you about the world’s opinion of God?

• A panel of judges says that kids can’t recite the Pledge of Allegiance in public school because of the words “under God.”
• Characters on television repeatedly take God’s name in vain.
• 126,000 babies are aborted worldwide every day.

Compare these signals with the signals from the Bible that tell us:

• God has His eyes on the nations and the hearts of all people, and He has appointed all leaders (Psalm 33:12-15; Romans 13:1).
• God is holy and His name should not be misused (Exodus 20:7; Isaiah 52:5-6).
• God is the creator and designer of human life (Genesis 2:7; Psalm 139:13-16).

The world sees God as irrelevant, weak, even nonexistent. In reality, God is all-powerful and perfect—to Him we owe our very existence. If you’re a Jesus-follower, your brain should recognize that these are mixed signals—and know which ones are right. If you’re not so sure anymore, if the world’s signals are becoming mixed up with the right ones, ask God to stop the motion. Ask Him to guide you to the truth about Him in His Word. He’ll help you get your balance again. —Tracy Carbaugh

REFLECTION

• What do I learn about God from Psalm 86?
• What do I know about God by looking at what He’s done in my own life?

Mixed signals make you sick.

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