“Tunnels along the way.”
When my kids were teenagers we went to Universal Studios in California. For movie fans it is well worth the visit. On arrival we were put on to an open-air vehicle and driven from one interesting display to another. One of our stops was in a tunnel. Our guide, a dapper sixty-year-old man, who was so well spoken that you wondered why he wasn’t in the movies instead of talking about them to tourists, was asking us to “remain calm and seated at all times.” His insistence fell on deaf ears. The light and sound effects in the tunnel, coupled with the group over-reaction, automatically caused a mild panic. The vehicle appeared to be moving fast along the tunnel and swerving left and right up the walls. Some of the tourists were ready to jump out of the vehicle. It was worth the money for that ‘ride’ alone. The trick of the ride was the illusion that we were swerving out of control. As the guide said later, “The vehicle never moved an inch.” Deception is truly the spice of entertainment. But deception is also the drug of the devil.
When a Christian gets into his own tunnel of spiritual confusion, the devil is always quick to create the illusion that he is swerving out of control. Unless the Christian sees the illusion for what it is, he will want to abandon his secure position. Trials and tribulations—temptations, persecutions, consequences of sin, misfortunes and the stuff of everyday life—will always be with us. Seeing them for what they are is most of the battle won. Seeing them as ‘a divine plot to crash your life’ is just giving in to the tricks of the devil. “For we do not have a high priest [Jesus] who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16). No matter what’s going on in those spiritual tunnels along the way, it is best to trust that the Lord knows what He’s doing, and “remain calm and seated at all times.”
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