We don’t own new vehicles.  It’s not something my wife and I can afford.  However, we do travel a bit, and when we do, we typically arrange for rental cars.  Those vehicles are generally on the newer side.

Recently we were in Texas for a ministry conference in San Antonio with most of the rest of my Seminary classmates.  (It was absolutely wonderful!)  After the conference, we spent a little time driving a rented Nissan Altima around west Texas and southern New Mexico, seeing sights and relaxing.  We logged about 2,200 miles in that zippy, black car.

And it was filled with all kinds of new-fangled safety features!

If a car approached alongside us, a light lit up on whichever side the vehicle happened to be on.

If our blinker was clicked on indicating a change of lanes when a car was beside us in that direction, a nasty warning buzz occurred.

If we drifted onto a lane marker, a different buzz was heard, a unique flash popped onto the dashboard, AND a vibration was felt in the steering wheel.

Special notification happened when entering a slower speed zone.  If moving too fast for the car’s liking coming into that lower zone, a different flash appeared on the dash.

When the cruise control was activated, the car adjusted to the speed of the car in front of us … never approaching closer than a set distance.

On a few occasions when the vehicles ahead of us came to rapid halts, our car did too (on it’s own … though I was braking too!), squawking mightily to alert us of the danger.

If traveling with the brights on in the dark Texas nights, our rental took it upon itself to automatically switch to dims when the lights of an approaching car were detected.  (Or, annoyingly, when it detected a bright enough reflection off a road sign.)

I don’t know of a specific time that these safety features spared us from calamity.  But they well might have!  At the least, they gave me (the driver) some added security that safeguards were in place.

“How very like God’s Word,” I thought multiple times on our trip.

Of course, the Bible reveals to us the one true God and his attributes.  It also shows us our Savior and all he did to make atonement for our wrongs.  And it supplies us with the origin of creation (God made it!), the origin of our own lives (God gave them!), and our ultimate destination (heaven!). 

These aspects alone make the Scriptures profoundly important.  However, they also are filled with “safety features” for believers.

What are some of those “safety features” God’s Bible provides?  The list is long!  Here are just a few that come to mind:

Absolutes in regard to right and wrong.  (Ex. 20)

Truth.  Absolute truth.  (Jn. 17:17)

Saving power.  (Rom. 1:16)

Guidance to spiritual and eternal life – as well as in our physical life.  (Jn. 14:6)

Wisdom, knowledge and understanding – both spiritual and practical.  (Prov. 2:6)

Illumination.  (Ps. 119:105)

Foundation in life’s uncertainties.  (Mt. 7:24)

Protection, both offensive (Eph. 6:17) and defensive (Prov. 30:5).

Spiritual sustenance and joy. (Jer.15:16)

Endurance, encouragement and hope in an often discouraging world.  (Rom. 15:4)

Revelation of things to come.  (Rev. 1:1-3)

Some have described the BIBLE as … Basic Information Before Leaving Earth.  It’s an apt description, given all the “safety features” God has built into it.

Which underscores the importance of actively being in God’s Word!

The more we are in the Word, the more the Word is in us.  And the more spiritual safeguards become ours. 

As the Apostle Paul reminds fellow pastor, Timothy: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The longer we were in our little rental car, the more safety features we noticed and appreciated.  Praise be to God, the same is true of our time in the Scriptures!

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Psalm 119 – selected verses

⁹⁷ Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. ⁹⁸ Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. ⁹⁹ I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. ¹⁰⁰ I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.

 ¹⁰¹ I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. ¹⁰² I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. ¹⁰³ How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! ¹⁰⁴ I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. … ¹²⁹ Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. ¹³⁰ The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

¹⁵⁹ See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, Lord, in accordance with your love. ¹⁶⁰ All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.

¹⁶⁹ May my cry come before you, Lord; give me understanding according to your word. ¹⁷⁰ May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise. ¹⁷¹ May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.  ¹⁷² May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous. ¹⁷³ May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.

¹⁷⁴ I long for your salvation, Lord, and your law gives me delight. ¹⁷⁵ Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me.