I was recently in Cairo visiting our missionary partners. I learned quickly that the use of the car horn is a required skill for driving. The car horn is used for a variety of reasons such as a greeting, expressing frustration, or even simply out of boredom.
We live in a world of blaring horns. We fear for our economic future. We are surrounded by wars and natural disasters. We are daily confronted with the suffering of others. We want to fix the problems. We want to honk our horns.
Psalm 46 provides the practical answer to the anxiety and frustration that so many of us feel. Verse 2 says, “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;” The Psalmist is telling us that these things will happen. But disasters do not result in fear.
How do we experience that confidence? Verse 10 says, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Chinese translates this Hebrew phrase perfectly, “你們要休息” We are not told to give up. We are told to stop honking our horns and simply drive. I will add this to the Chinese, “you need to rest the car horn.”
This is the foundation for our missions ministry. We cannot eliminate poverty. We cannot force everyone to become a Christian. We cannot change the impact of bad government. We can keep loving, giving, serving with confidence that God will be exalted. We can rest our car horn and keep driving guided by God’s plan and not ours.
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