Breathe; John 20:19-23

I was an hour away from home, looking for some relaxation on a beautiful summer day. My destination was a rails-to-trails project where I could walk, think, and pray. As I approached the parking lot for the trail, my old vehicle balked! It didn't want to turn! With great effort and a lot of trouble, I steered into the lot and assessed the problem.

My power steering was out.

An hour from home.

Jack LaLanne would have approved of the workout I got on the drive back home. Every curve was a challenge. I felt right and left turns burning in my forearms, and just keeping the old clunker pointed in the right direction kept me sweating. No power steering meant I was left to my strength to get home.

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you," Jesus promises in Acts 1:8. Power to steer the church against the tide of the world and power to meet life's challenges with holiness and peace. Ten days later, that power was given on the day of Pentecost.

And yet, you and I confess that too often, we live like we have no power steering, struggling to make our way in this world through our own strength. What blessings would we know if we took our hands off the wheel and trusted God's guiding power?