But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; John 16:7-9 (NIV)
My car caught on fire today. Not a big, blazing fire, but enough smoke to scare us. Believe it or not, it started in the turn signal. My son was driving, and we were almost home. I don’t know how long smoke had been coming out of the area around the steering wheel because I was clinging to the arm rest with my eyes closed, but he noticed it as we turned the corner onto our street. It was late in the day, the sun caught it just right and we could see the smoke clearly. I told him, “Just keep driving and get us home.” He raced down our street and into the driveway while I dialed my husband. Of course, he did not answer on the first call as he probably thought I was just going to bother him with something silly. I left a frantic voice mail message to which he immediately replied. Once in the yard, with instructions, we managed to get the battery cable off and disconnect the power. By that time, the turn signal was fried, and the car smelled like burned plastic. The worst part is that the car had been warning me for days that there was a problem, and I had been ignoring it. Since the middle of last week, the blinker noise would not go off. The turn signals themselves were not working unless you turned them on, but even when turned off, the warning that they were on, continued. Oddly, its frequency fluctuated with use of the brake and sometimes the air conditioner blower also buzzed. I complained about it to my husband, and he thought I was crazy. No one where he works had heard of such a thing either. It happened when my son was driving as well which gave me more credibility, but after inspection, there were still no answers as to what was making the noise. I was told, “Just keep driving,” and I did. Until smoke appeared. Now my car is out of commission for several days until it can be fixed. I should have listened to the warning bell and had the car checked out more thoroughly. God sent us the Holy Spirit to be our alarm when we are headed the wrong way. He is there to warn us to listen up, something needs attention. But, just as I did, often we ignore the check which we feel in our hearts. “Oh, I’m okay, just keep driving,” we say. We think nothing bad will come of our actions or thoughts. Yet, we do not know that deep inside us is a fire about to burst into blaze which will cause great harm to ourselves or someone we love. If the Holy Spirit has been sending you a warning message, if you feel convicted that something you are planning to do or say is not right, LISTEN UP! Don’t be caught off guard. He’s speaking for a reason, so don’t just keep driving.
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