Over the holiday weekend the Holy Spirit led me to take an all day "road trip" and as I did the Holy Spirit began to lay several things upon my heart. This is being written in the context in which it was given so please understand as you read.
 
 
 

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the Heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1
 
 
 

Cruise Control: The first thing I had to do was use the cruise control, and I had to set it at exactly at the posted speed limit. The Lord showed me through this that in the coming days we are to submit to His timing, and wait for Him to get us where He is taking us when He wants us there. Too many times we rush ahead of His perfect timing and mess things up. In the past, we have been "flashed" as a warning, and even at times pulled over and given a warning. But so many times as soon as we figured it was safe, we sped up again to our own speed. In the future the Lord will start giving us more and more "tickets", and the price of our disobedience will get higher and higher. We are not to look at how many people are "passing" us, but to focus only on Him, and His timing in our lives. We are to resist letting others "push" us to go faster than we have been led to. An important benefit in this will be that as we go up and down "hills" we will maintain a constant speed. Also in the days to come, during certain seasons there will be a 'minimum speed limit' as well as a maximum one. Some who continually procrastinate will find themselves getting a "ticket" as well. There will at times be "stoplights" and other "traffic" signals, and we are to obey them as we do in the natural.
 

Bathroom Breaks: As we do in the natural, we need to at times discard the spiritual "waste" from the "meals" that we have eaten. Many of us put this off because we don't like to "get off the highway," and we can create problems and unnecessary discomfort for ourselves. Also, as in the natural, if we have "children" with us we need to be sensitive to the fact that they will need to this more often than we do.
 

Lights on: The Lord had me drive with my lights on the entire trip, even though much of the trip was taken during daylight hours. Too many times we only shine the "light" that is available to us at "night", so we can see where we are going. We need to "shine" all of the time so others can see the light that we have been given.
 

Tailgating: Many of us 'tailgate', or follow others or ministries so closely that if they were "crash", we would be involved as well. The Lord does use others and ministries to touch our lives, but we need enough "space" between for our own personal relationship with Him.
 

Toll Roads: At several points during the "road trip" I had to stop and pay a toll to go any further. The price got higher and higher as I went. The days ahead are just the same. To walk with the Lord will "cost" more and more, in both submitting to His will rather than our own and in persecutions.
 

Leave it behind: I carry a pager with me everywhere I go, but the Lord told me to leave it behind during this trip. It uses "cellular" technology. Many of us carry cell phones and beepers and like cells are small, often time these tools can bring small distractions which divert our total attention away from the Lord and His purposes.
 

Time Zones: During this trip I passed back and forth through connecting time zones. The Lord showed me through this that we will pass back and forth through many seasons in a short period of time. This is part of a refining process that all of us need to go through.
 

Other Vehicles: For the entire trip, I used two other vehicles that are newer than my own. This represents times of training and teaching and receiving fresh insights, both directly from the Holy Spirit and from established teachers and ministries. It will help us when the time comes for us to have new "vehicles".
 

Take your map: Not only did I have a road map with me, but my "spiritual" road map as well, the Word of God. Only by having and reading our maps do we not get "lost."
 

Stops along the way: The Lord directed me to stop at various places along the way, and had me do certain things. In one city, I bought some Christmas gifts for my family. This represents our bringing fresh truths and insights back "home", whether it be to our home church or those close to us. In another city, the Lord had me pray in the Spirit around a certain area. This represents intercession that we will do for those not close to us or even to whom we won't directly minister.

In another city, I circled the city praying and as I did the Holy Spirit showed that I will live there at some point in the future. This represents preparation that we are currently undergoing for the fulfillment of our callings in the Lord. But just before that, the Lord had me stop and eat and rest and read from the Word, and just like it was for me that day, the Lord will use this time in such a way as to not only be a time of resting and nourishment, but as a sign and confirmation that we are in His will. *An important stop during my trip was in Berea. There the Lord had me buy some bottled water and to use the bathroom. This represents the importance of "searching the scriptures daily" for fresh cleansing and nourishment and insight from the Word of God.* Other stops were made visiting family and friends. This represents maintaining ourselves in good fellowship with each other. Even though there are seasons of drawing closer to Lord, we need to not abandon the relationships that He has established in our lives.
 

Blessing from obedience: Since the road trip I have received a tremendous blessing from the Lord. The Lord has shown me that I received it because I was obedient to His leading. The person that the Lord used to bless me as already been blessed as well. This morning as I was sharing a part of this with my Pastor the Holy Spirit spoke to me, "Obedience multiplies blessings." This of course represents the blessings that we receive from obeying the Lord.
 
 
 

Just as the Lord used certain events in the lives Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others as a "sign and a wonder" to speak to His people, so He still does today through all of us. However, the greatest sign came through the life, obedience and sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ.
 

your servant in Him,
 

Cliff Gadbois
 

secondtimothy4@hotmail.com
 

http://www.oocities.org/secondtimothy4