Shock Absorbers

Oh, that ditch again! I was driving home and—as I had done every day for months—had to drive very slowly over a dip in the road to avoid a bone-jarring jolt.

My car was due for a general servicing, so I took it to the mechanic I regularly go to. As he got behind the wheel to pull it into his shop, I was feeling pretty good about myself for having remembered to have my car serviced. He had moved it only inches, however, when he stepped on the brakes, turned to me with a look of surprise, and asked, “How can you drive your car like this?! Your shock absorbers are gone!”

My reflex reaction to the instant diagnosis was to question the mechanic’s motives. How could he be so sure, so quick? But since the car was 10 years old and my past experience with this mechanic gave me no reason to mistrust him, I asked him to check the shocks and replace them if necessary, which he did.

Oops, that ditch again. As I was driving my newly serviced car home, my mind was somewhere else and I didn’t think to slow down for the familiar dip until it was too late. I braced myself for the inevitable impact—tailbone to floor and car body to wheels—but hardly felt that old ditch. The mechanic had been right. I had gotten so used to driving my car with no shock absorbers that I had forgotten what it was like to have them.

If you drive only on good roads you hardly need shock absorbers, but when the road gets rough or you come to one of those bone-jarring dips or potholes, it’s a different story. Isn’t life a lot like that? Most of the time, thank God, the ride is pretty smooth. But what about when we lose someone close to us, or suffer a business failure, or an injury shakes our lives? What if there is a power failure and we are stuck in an elevator for hours, or we find ourselves in an earthquake or other disaster? What kind of “shock absorbers” can help us make it through incidents like these in one piece?

Ask the Man who walked the rough and rugged road to Mount Calvary and gave His life there for you and me. He should know—and He does. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

So many people drive through life with absolutely no shock absorbers, carefully trying to avoid every bump and hole in the road that could give them a jolt. They try to only drive on the smoothest roads because they know they’re not prepared for any sudden bumps. They don’t have the peace that Jesus offers—shock absorbers for their earthly vehicle. Maybe they don’t even realize they need shock absorbers, or how much wear and tear these things can spare them.

There are going to be bumps on the road of life. That’s inevitable. But with Jesus’ loving hands underneath you, you’ll hardly notice them. You can just relax, enjoy the ride, and arrive safe and sound at your final destination.

Put yourself in His hands, and see the difference it makes.

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Mark 16:16 ESV / Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Acts 2:38 ESV / And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

1 Peter 3:21 ESV / Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,