Keys to the Kingdom – Carolyn Tucker
Living in the Midwest gives you a right-good taste of all four seasons. Sometimes I wonder how odd it would be to live in Southern California with no snow during the winter months. Driving in this inclement weather challenges the young and old alike. With a snow-packed driveway, we recently had a 20-year-old young lady come out to visit us. As we welcomed her, she explained that her father had insisted she drive his pickup due to the severe road conditions.
This vehicle was not a 4X4, and when she nervously admitted that she’d never driven his pickup before, I immediately saw a big red flag! Long story short, when she attempted to turn around in the driveway, she accidentally backed over our snow-covered fire pit and got very stuck. After I gave her some instructions and we added four arms to push, she drove out with no harm done. Since she hadn’t even tested the pickup in good weather, she would have been better off driving her own car simply because she was used to it.
A test drive is important if you want to experience how the vehicle handles. Knowing the limits and capabilities of a vehicle can keep you safer in hazardous weather when maneuverability counts most. Often in redneck country, you can watch someone showing off in a test drive (or stunt) as he yells, “Hey ya’ll, watch this!”
There’s a biblical account of a young man that hadn’t tested something he was offered. David and King Saul are talking about Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:32,33 NLT: ‘“Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. ”I’ll go fight him!” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”’ Saul thought the cards were stacked against the boy. But David assured Saul that since he had killed lions and bears, the Lord would rescue him from Goliath too. King Saul finally consented to the unmatched duel.
Even though David was going to do the fighting, Saul wanted to help him in the only way he knew how. ‘“So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off’ (1 Samuel 17:38,29 NKJV). Then David took his staff, put five stones in his shepherd’s bag, and grabbed his slingshot because he was used to these weapons. David had tested them and knew that, with God‘s help, he would be victorious in defeating this obnoxious overgrown Philistine.
We’ve heard, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” As a young shepherd boy, David had experienced many test drives with His unfailing God. Therefore, he wasn’t willing to trade his tried-and-true Lord for some fandangled and unproven method. David’s faith and confidence was in the Lord of hosts, whom Goliath had openly defied. David boldly predicted victory for God’s sake, and his trust was strong enough to literally lay his life on the line.
The Key: Take God for a test drive and He’ll prove Himself to you.