By Jennifer Greene-Sullivan
There is an old GMC pickup truck that I encounter fairly often on my morning drive to school. I would guess it is an early ’90s model, and it has definitely seen some miles. Both taillight covers are busted, so when I get behind it, bright white lights shine directly back at me. For a split second, those lights play a trick on my eyes. It looks as though that old truck is traveling backward toward me when, in reality, it is moving forward.
Those lights are distracting, too. They are so bright that they make it difficult to see clearly. Still, it has simply been one of those familiar sights along my morning commute—until this morning.
While brushing my teeth, the Lord unexpectedly brought that old GMC to my mind. I thought about those broken taillights and how strange it is that a vehicle moving forward can appear to be moving backward simply because of what I see. I have learned to pay attention when the Lord draws me to something ordinary.
Then, I drove to school.
As I came into Eastman, there it was.
That old GMC.
Once again, those bright white lights were shining directly into my face.
This time, though, I saw more than a truck. I saw how easily I can misunderstand what God is doing when I judge my direction only by what I can see. There have been seasons when circumstances seemed to scream, Backward! A closed door looked like lost progress. A delay felt like God had stopped moving. An old struggle made me wonder whether I had somehow ended up right back where I started.
However, appearances do not determine direction.
Jesus said in John 5:17, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” God does not stop working simply because I cannot see what He is doing.
That truth reminds me of a song especially dear to me, Way Maker. Its message has carried me through seasons when I could neither see nor feel what God was doing. Faith keeps trusting that He is working even when the evidence in front of us seems to suggest otherwise.
Maybe that is what struck me most about those busted taillights. The truck was never traveling backward. My view of it was distorted. Everything my eyes told me said one thing while the actual direction of the truck said another.
How often do I do the same thing with God?
I see the delay and call it denial. I see the struggle and call it regression. Sometimes, I become so distracted by what is shining in my face that I cannot clearly see where He is taking me.
This morning, those busted taillights were shining in my face again. Maybe I needed to see them one more time.
Because sometimes what looks backward is still forward.
So when I cannot see it, I will trust Him. When I cannot feel it, I will trust Him. When all the lights in front of me seem to say backward, I will keep following the One who knows exactly which direction I am going.
After all, torn wings still fly.
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