By: Tom Wolff

I used to be a fanatic about keeping my mirrors clean. But now – well, I still am! We need them for so much information. The truck driver’s success is hugely dependent upon his or her ability to accurately read the information in the mirrors. Road drivers typically don’t have windows in the back of the cab. But even if you do, you still must master the mirrors.

The first thing to remember about mirrors is that they don’t give you the whole picture. Sometimes you have to piece together in your mind what the mirror isn’t showing you. For instance, when you have to jack the truck into a parking space, you can’t see any of the far side of your trailer. You just have to know from experience where it is. Hint – it’s about 8 ½ feet from the side you’re looking at! Most trucks have blind spots even though the modern mirror placement location out on the fenders has taken care of most of them. Still, it’s good to know when someone is super close to the rear of your rig, drafting. It is critical that we stay aware of the location of everyone around us.

Spiritually, like our truck, we too must be aware of our blind spots. The Apostle Paul tells us that we are to be aware of the schemes of our enemy. (2 Corinthians 2:11) Satan will attempt to exploit our every weakness, addiction, and craving. We can be a sitting duck alone on the road. Our challenge is to stay in touch with God, His word, and other believers who can encourage us day to day to stay strong. We can enter a blind spot whenever we fail to invite God into every part of every day.

Our mirrors also keep us centered. They can help us navigate the construction “cattle chute” which is usually super tight and always nerve-wracking. An occasional peek in the mirror lets us know how close we are to the edge. But even there, the best strategy is to focus forward, down the road which keeps our truck centered in the space we have.

Some of you are old enough to remember the song by singer Cher, “If I Could Turn Back Time.” In the song, the singer wishes she could undo hurtful events in the past. You know, get a do-over. We probably all have some of those regrets. The problem is that time is fluid – it is always moving – forward. None of us can turn back time. Many of the people who come to me for counseling are struggling with events that happened many years ago and yet those events are responsible for much pain and struggle in the present.

Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT) ” . . . I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” It’s not that Paul literally couldn’t remember, in fact, he recounts what lies behind the preceding verses. Paul is saying that he actually can remember the past but he doesn’t allow it to paralyze him or derail him in the present.

Paul is warning us about spending too much time looking in the mirrors. I need to check them constantly in order to manage the space around the truck, but if I spend too much time looking at them, I will crash. Where we’ve been is viewed in the mirrors, but where we’re headed is viewed through the windshield. It’s the same with life. We need to learn from our past, no matter how painful, as it is part of our story. But where we are going is in front of us, and that’s where we need to focus.

Many of us try to live into the future, dragging our past along behind us. We don’t have the capacity to live in both of those worlds. We can’t undo the past, but with God’s help, we can leave the past in the past and write a beautiful ending. It’s what He loves to do! It was for freedom that Christ has set us free (Gal 5:1).

By: Tom Wolff

My wife and I have owned a travel trailer for a few years now.  There is a lot to learn. Not only about the operations of the trailer but about packing to go. It seems like it should be an easy thing to figure out, but it is actually a ridiculous thing to figure out. Every. Time.

Usually, I have a ton of stuff in the trailer and the truck. Once  I’m fully packed and ready, my wife will emerge from the  house with a couple more bags and an excited comment  like, “This is everything!” I’m never sure what to make of said comment – Do you mean this is everything we are taking or do you mean the house is now empty? 

I have learned to keep my mouth shut and have found if I  squeeze and squish, push and pull, there is always room for the final two or three bags. Still, at the end of the day, we are  both fully aware that we can only take so much stuff, so we  continue to work on our packing ‘system.’ 

There is a national weight limit for tractor-trailers of 80,000  lbs. with few exceptions. One of those exceptions applies to farmers who qualify for a special permit which allows them a gross weight limit of 95,000 lbs.! How much more can I take?  Zero more – This is an extraordinary amount of weight. I am allowed 15,000 additional pounds of freight but no additional brakes to slow it down.

Driving a grain truck for four years caused me to become very aware of the dangers of exceeding ‘all I can take’. It also caused me to ditch my ‘once-in-a-while’ road rage. I have many times been very thankful for a grace-filled God who showed me how to lay down my anger. Now I pray instead –  a lot. 

I find that I have limits just like my truck does. Over the past few years, especially since COVID, I have encountered many  folks in my counseling office who have cried out in exhaustion  and frustration, “I don’t know how much more I can take!” I  often wonder the same thing. Our enemy seems to be the master of piling on. Just when we think we have nothing more to give, the car breaks down, or the washing machine quits. We don’t have any kind of built-in scale that tells us that we have reached the maximum load limit and we need a long nap in order to reset. I laugh when people say, “God will never  give you more than you can handle.” Seriously? My reading of the Bible informs me that God will always give us more than we can handle.

But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. (Heb 10:38)

You see, God wants us to need Him. He delights in ‘showing up’  for His children. The reality is that when I can handle whatever comes my way, I’m not walking by faith, I’m walking in my own power and understanding. God becomes our “in case of  emergency, try prayer” rather than, “we walk by faith and not by  sight.” We are designed to know God and walk through our lives trusting Him. I grow in that understanding only as God allows me to experience situations that are beyond my ability to handle or control. That’s where faith comes in – that’s where it’s tested  – and that’s where God proves His sufficiency. He will either show up in some unexpected answer or increase our capacity to endure the circumstances. Sometimes He does both. In either case, He wants us to grow in our understanding and dependency on His goodness and faithfulness. That is what faith is – without testing we will never know if we truly trust Him.

Are you struggling with an issue or condition that seems to have no end? Have you already cried out, “Lord, how much can I  take?” God hasn’t promised us an easy life. He has promised us that He will never leave us or forsake us. I encourage you to continue to trust Him. He will not leave you. He will see you through to the end of every trial.  

“It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that He exists and that He cares enough to respond to those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 (The Message)