I spent the day yesterday hustling down the freeway running through California’s spine with a throng of people trying to escape their Covid Cocoon and chase whatever kind of NORMAL awaits them on the road ahead. Along the way I resisted stopping at the first two IN-N-OUT Hamburger stands I encountered; but succumbed to the third. I pulled into the drive-through–after muttering my self-directed chastisement over eating too many hamburgers on this trip–and tossed my order to the cheerful and accommodating teenager trying to balance his iPad and keep his uncooperative earpiece in his ear at the same time.
That experience got me thinking that In-N-Out is a SPIRITUAL MATURITY TOOL for Christians trying to LOVE God more and FEAR less. It’s true. Here’s the story.
Southern California is known for a lot of INCREDIBLE things. Avocados, Hollywood, surfing in the sun, and the best fast-food hamburger on the planet–In-N-Out.
Not only is In-N-Out delicious; it’s a great name, too. Short, hip, and memorable. But here’s the most important thing about In-N-Out:
The amount of fear we carry around with us is not driven by the stress and problems in our life. Not by the number of activities we engage in. And not by our job and the “things” we chase, accumulate, and then “manage.”
The amount of worry we carry around is directly proportional to the time we spend IN God’s WORD. As we allow God “more and more” into our heart, our problems and challenges become “less and less” intimidating.
Time in God’s WORD dictates what comes OUT of us as evidence of God’s impact and blessing on our life. That then becomes our witness for God’s Kingdom so others may be transformed by Christ.
You do not have to like In-N-Out hamburgers to be an In-N-Out Christian. You just need to start each day with God’s Word and make sure you shovel plenty of it into your mind and heart. Then you need to pray that it comes out later as you walk through your day.
That’s my In-N-Out story.
I ask God to push me to be an In-N-Out Christian. To help me focus on making sure his Word pours into my DNA every day so he can then use it, and me, to serve others and build his Kingdom.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are you getting God’s Word IN your heart so it can come OUT in your life?
“The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.” Psalm 37:31
