The Blessing of the Annoying "Ding"

We bought a little 2003 Toyota Echo this spring. With three kids learning to drive, we realized it would be helpful to have a second vehicle...and preferably one that does not seat 11 passengers and is the size of a small house ;). Though we bought it with the kids in mind, it has already proved its worth in gold as reflected by our monthly gas bill. On a personal note, I love this car. It just "fits" me. I can even look over the top of it, resting my arm against the hood like I've done it a thousand times. Yep...I feel pretty cool! That is, of course, until I get behind the wheel. Did I mention there is no power anything in this car...no power locks, no power seats, and no power steering. Whoever invented power steering should have a state named after him. If you've never driven a car without power steering...you should add it to your bucket list...it's quite the experience! ;) All that to say, I'm still getting used to some of the features in this little Echo of ours.

One of those features caught me off guard after I turned off the car and proceeded to exit. DING, DING, DING, DING, DING. My first thoughts were one of annoyance, followed by a level of irritation as I tried to figure out why it was squawking at me. All that gave way to a sheepish grin when I realized that my car was simply trying to tell me that I had left the lights on and needed to manually turn them off. It was a steady, loud warning that saved me from having a dead battery in the morning.

My thoughts quickly shifted from the temporal to the eternal and I couldn't help but wonder how often I am irritated by the very things that God brings into my life to warn me about impending sin, or to cause me to pause and evaluate the thoughts and motives of what I am about to do.  His gracious "DING" is met with resistance and annoyance instead of received as a gift that could keep me from future pain, trials, and tears. God's Word reminds me that "all things are His servants" and I would do well to receive "all things" with a teachable spirit.

We all know that our sovereign, merciful, gracious God does all things for our good and His glory...but sometimes we forget it in the day to day events of our lives. We are often okay trusting Him with the big things, the unknowable things...but we forget to rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in everything...including the annoying "dings" that are brought into our life to stop us, to sanctify us, to remind us, and to encourage our hearts that the Spirit is at work and never on vacation.

I needed the "dings" of my car to protect me from my own forgetfulness so that I didn't reap the consequence of a dead battery in the morning. We need the daily "dings", the daily moments of mercy and grace that come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, to remind us of our sinful tendencies and dispositions so that we would look to our great Savior and be changed more into His likeness.

May all our dings turn into a melody of praise and worship as we seek to honor our Lord in the work He has called us to today!


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