So I got a call from a local dealership. The man identified himself as the sales manager and said he wanted to buy my 2013 car from me and put me in a new one. I told him to send me all of the info via email and I’d talk to my husband.

The email never came. But a few days later, I mentioned the call to my husband and after some errands, we decided to go look “just for fun.” The last time we did that, we brought home a puppy. The time before that yielded a kitten. “Just for fun” are famous last words at our house.

The sales manager was excited to see us, as you can imagine. Because we knew what features I (I mean we) wanted, he didn’t have to show us several cars. We made it easy: It needs to be white, gray or blue. Leather seats. A sunroof. After searching the lot and reminding this nice man several times that he called me (and frankly I didn’t even need the new car therefore didn’t have to settle) he said that a car with my three specifications didn’t exist at their dealership. However, if I’d agree to a car with two of the three requirements, they’d change out the seats to leather. Deal.

We signed paperwork and handed over the keys to my car (with way too many miles) and took possession of the new car.

It didn’t take long to start noticing features I didn’t even know existed. Driving at night, the high beams came on automatically when there wasn’t a car coming towards me. Pushing a button on the remote twice automatically starts the car. Whenever I plug in my phone, I have car play. What. Is. This?! I haven’t lived under a rock guys, but all of this was so new to me! And these are things I’ve discovered just by driving. So Matt decided to get out the owner’s manual to see what else my new car is capable of. Turns out this model does a lot more and we’re ready to tap into all the benefits.

Driving to work today in this car that has so much to offer, got me thinking about the Lord and what He offers us.

The depth of His love that often goes untapped.

The grace. Untapped. The gifts. Untapped. The mercy. Untapped. The forgiveness. Untapped. What else does He offer us freely? It’s all part of the “package”—all for free when we decide to commit our lives to Him. How do we tap into it?  By learning about Him. By depending on Him. By trusting Him. By following Him. By worshipping Him. By being with His people. By digging into the manual, God’s Word. By being like Him and spending time with Him.

You know what else I’ve learned about this car? When you’re following the car in front of you too close, or you’re going a little too fast, the car flashes a red light on the dash. It makes a noise that scares the life out of you and it slows the car down for you. (Don’t ask how I know this…it wasn’t easy to tell my husband this newfound information without over revealing,  if you know what I mean.)

But guess what? That’s not how God works. He wants us to follow hard after Him and be close. He doesn’t use lights and noises to scare us. He speaks truth into us through His followers. Follow hard. Stay close.

Have you tapped into everything that God has for you? Have you opened your eyes and mind to the depths of His goodness and love? What are you waiting for?

 

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good! – Psalm 34:8