Our vehicles-we depend on them every day to get us where we need to go and to get us there safely.  To keep them dependable and safe they require some upkeep(some more than others!) You have to get your oil changed so your engine will run properly, have your brakes checked, and so on.  Keeping up on these things can seem like a hassle  at times, but in the long run it will save you money and hopefully help to prevent bigger issues that can be disastrous.  One of these things is wheel alignment.  It isn’t somethng that we probably think about, but something that if left unattended can cause some pretty hefty problems.  Your vehicle is designed for its tires to be in alignment.   However, something as small as hitting a pothole can knock your car out of alignment.  When I googled the definition of car alignment, I found that it is defined as “.. .adjusting the angles of the wheels so that they are set to the car maker’s specifications.” Wikipedia

If the angles are not set properly, you vehicle can experience issues such as pulling to one side, poor gas mileage, and uneven tire wear.  When left unattended, this can be come a costly issue as it can ruin your tires long before their time.  So instead of spending maybe $10-$12 per tire to have your vehicle aligned, you could be look at hundreds of dollars in new tires.

The same thing holds true in our spiritual walk.  We need to keep our life aligned to our Maker’s specifications.  We travel down the road of life, hitting bumps and potholes and our alignment gets knocked off.  Before we know it we can be veering to the left or to the right and if left unchecked, we could end up with a problem far more costly than we ever imagined.  So the key is to check our alignment and correct it before the problem gets severe.

This weekend, I had a bad weekend.  I was angry and frustrated.  I started focusing on the circumstances in my life that I didn’t like and just felt more hurt and more angry.  Then as if to add insult to injury, I received confirmation of news that in my heart I had known for a while, but still didn’t want to think about.  I was questioning God and asking why?  To try and get my mind off things, I decided to watch a movie I had been wanting to watch but just hadn’t found the time.  The movie was  War Room.  (You can click on it to watch the trailer.)  During one scene, Elizabeth, the young wife in the story is listening to her husband question why she has been treating him with love when he had basically been a complete jerk,  why she hadn’t left when she knew that he had nearly cheated on her.  She says something to her husband that really hit home.  She said, “Because I love Jesus, I am staying right here”  In that moment, I started to realize, I am out of alignment.  I was focusing on what I didn’t like, rather than focusing where I should, on Jesus.  I was spending my time complaining about things rather than having a heart of gratitude for all He has done for me even though I didn’t deserve anything.  I was more concerned about what I wanted in my life than what I was created for-“to know him, love him, live with him, and glorify him” (as answered by question 4 of The New City Catechism.)  Jesus lived for me, he died for me, and he rose for me, so that I could live a life aligned with my Maker. How can I do anything less than live my life for Him?  I spent this morning asking for forgiveness and asking God to preform the alignment I so desperately needed.

So maybe today, as the title suggests, ask yourself when your last alignment was, and then allow God to set you straight according to His specifications.