“Jesus take the wheeeel, take it from my hands.”
Oh, I do love that song, and when it comes on the radio, I’m singing every word right along with Carrie-- much to the chagrin of some unnamed family members.The last time I heard that song, I thought to myself, wouldn’t it make more sense to just let Jesus KEEP the wheel? Now it’s a great song, and I’m certainly not knocking the idea that once we come to the realization that we’ve made a mess of things, it’s time to call on Jesus. But when I am saying is, once we’re out of calamity, we tend to subtly say, “thanks Jesus, I can take it from here.” The truth is, that’s how we met with disaster in the first place.
I’ve always been a doer, fixer, problem solver kind of girl, so it’s not easy for me to scoot over to the passenger side. But it’s not enough to cast God in the role of consultant or co-pilot, He want’s me to put Him in the driver’s seat. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." There’s a reason we shouldn’t depend on our own understanding; we can’t always see the big picture, but God can. He knows every curve in the road and what’s best for us, not only today, but in the future. His word says He delights in us and orders our steps. (Psalm 37:23) We need to learn to seek His wisdom at every turn and let His word be the GPS that maps our journey.
I love this translation of Mark 8:34-35 from The Message because it’s plain and simple!
Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how.’
I'm finding that it gets easier and easier each day. I am not a writer....never have been and never will be, but in Feb. of 2011, I found myself being hired as a writer and reporter. Within 2 months I was given the Editors job. Suffice to say, I truly had to give God the steering wheel. Each week I was responsible to put together a newspaper, which included writing articles about everything there was to cover in town. After having that job for a year, God closed that door and opened a new one. I am only learning daily why God put me in that position of writing, but more and more I am understanding that He does things in our lives where we must depend on Him. Although I have needed God in my life many times over my 55 years, it has only been in the last year that I reach a pinnacle in my life, and truly understood what it meant to "give it all" to God. Because of that year, now it is easy, through good times and bad, to just leave my life totally in His hands. It brings such a peace to my life and I know that He truly loves me, because He has carried me all my life, probably waiting so patiently for me to "get" the message,that I could stop trying to do everything on my own.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post Tanya. It's a message worth reading every day just to remind myself, not to take back what I have given to Him. Without His help, I'm not a real good driver, so I pray that I will always let Him keep the wheel!!
Wow Beth, sounds like life's been a whirlwind for you! I think sometimes God doesn't let us know what's around the bend is because we'd freak out! :) Thanks for your kind words!
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