Spending Your Entire Life in a Bumper Car

By Alexandra Copeland

One of God’s teaching methods is to allow us the privilege of seeing His patterns, so that we can get in alignment with them. We can do this by reading and studying His Word. In Malachi 3:6, God said, “For I am the LORD, I change not;” Among many other wonderful yummies, this truth speaks to God’s faithfulness. He will never change, and He will never violate His statutes or His Word. He’s beyond dedicated to upholding righteousness. Sometimes, we expect God to be flexible to our own desires and wants, and we’re very surprised when we bump against the boundaries of His plan for our lives and find it unyielding. It will not bend to our whims. A person can spend their entire lives behaving like they’re in a bumper car, bumping against God’s plan for them every which way but loose. They will try this thing or that thing and come up with all kinds of ways to get around what God has created them to do.  

In Jeremiah 29:11(NLT), God tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you…They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Heavenly Father knows best. He knows exactly who we are. He knows what we’re supposed to be doing, how we should do it, and when we should do it. Act 17:26 tells us that from one man, God created every nation throughout the entire earth. This is absolutely amazing to think about, and it only further demonstrates God’s brilliance. This verse also tells us that God decided the plan for humanity’s existence long before the world began, and He has appointed the times and places that each of us is born.

Heavenly Father doesn’t leave any detail undone, and we weren’t born by mistake; we’re supposed to be here. Ephesians 1:4 says that even before God made the world, He loved us, and He chose us to be in Christ. It is so important to remember this, because many of us forget that the main purpose of being in a bumper car is to hit stuff and to be hit. It’s only so much of this that a person can take before he or she gets sick. Sure, we’re going to take a few hits, but they are only to show us where we’re going wrong so we can make some corrections. The hits we take in life are supposed to help us wake up to the reality that we’re either headed in the wrong direction or we’re on the wrong path. When we recognize this, the smartest thing any of us can do is to ask God for help.

When I graduated college and finally got out there on my own, I thought I had it going on. I was making decent money, had my own car and apartment in the city, and I was having a good time for a while. I found out the hard way how ruthless some people can be, and I also began to make really big mistakes financially and personally. Life got complicated quicker than I was able to prepare for it, and I found myself dreading to get up in the mornings. I began to seek the Lord for help, and He planted my feet on solid ground. But I also had to abandon some of the plans I had for my life. They weren’t working out, and I witnessed that what God laid out for me was infinitely better.

The wisdom of Proverbs 19:21(NLT) tells us, “You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.” Making plans is a good thing, it’s what most of us do, but we should want God to be pleased with the plans we make. We should always check in with Him, because Psalm 56:13 tells us that He will keep our feet from falling. He will rescue us when we’re in a jam and other vehicles are not moving out of the way. 

Bumper cars were not made to go the distance. They are either bumping into things or other vehicles are bumping into them. It’s fun for a short time, but after a while, you’ll get tired and a little discombobulated from all the bumping and jolts. It’s no way to live. Jesus Christ told us in John 16:13 that we are to be guided to the truth in life, and the indwelling Holy Spirit is the one to do the guiding. We’re not meant to go through life constantly bumping walls of unmovable situations. 2Peter 1:5-8 tells us to make every effort to respond to the goodness of God. It tells us to supplement our faith with moral excellence, the knowledge of God’s Word, self-discipline, patient endurance, and Godliness. When we do this, we’ll be productive and most importantly, we’ll fulfill our purpose within God’s Will and Plan. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Spending Your Entire Life in a Bumper Car” by Alexandra Copeland-Renegades4CHRIST© 2019. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.