As the story goes a woman was driving in her car when suddenly she noticed that a truck driver was following her closely while signaling to her. She was driving alone in her car at night and the unwelcome follower was making her skittish at first. She tried to ignore his persistent signals and kept trying to escape him, but she couldn’t. He stayed close to her car. When she stepped on the gas he stepped on the gas. When she slowed down he slowed down. She became extremely nervous and began looking for an exit sign. She drove as fast as she could as she looked for the next exit. Then she saw the truck stop and turned off the highway with the truck following closely behind her.
By that time she was near hysteria as she pulled into the truck stop. The truck driver also pulled into the truck stop. She drove her car near to where she saw a group of men standing around and quickly got out of her car and ran to them screaming that a man was following her and pointing to the truck. Just then the truck pulled up right next to where she had parked her car and as the men moved toward him, the driver jumped out of the cab and ran toward the woman’s car. As the men moved closer and threateningly toward the truck driver, he quickly went to the woman’s car and opened the rear door. He pulled out a man who was dressed in full black and who was crouched down low between the seats.
As the story unfolded it became obvious that the woman was not aware of the danger that was lurking in the car behind her. The truck driver, from his vantage point had seen the man crouched down in the car and knew that the woman was in danger. He tried to signal and get her attention to warn her of the impending danger but she was trying to get away from him. She was afraid of the truck driver who was trying to save her. And so, she kept trying to escape him but he wouldn’t let her out of his sight until he was able to save her from the real danger that was traveling in the car with her.
This could be a parable, but to the best of my knowledge it is a true story. I heard it on the radio one morning, as I was getting ready to go to work. All that day, I kept thinking about the story and suddenly it hit me: that’s just how the Lord pursued me and tried to get my attention to warn me of my need for salvation. And, like the woman in the car the closer He got to me the faster I ran in my effort to escape Him. Until finally, I stopped running just long enough for Him to show me that I was running from the wrong one. That He was trying to save me from the unseen dangers that were lurking around in the shadows just waiting for an opportunity to devour me. But thank God that He got to me just in time.
“The thief comes only to steal kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
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