Who's In The Drivers Seat?
By: Kristen L. McNulty
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If there's one thing I've learned in the past two years it's that we're not in control. Even when we haven't made Jesus the Lord of our lives, we still ultimately have no control. Sure we can make a few choices, often the wrong ones, but we have little control over our lives.
Saying that then, why is it that you and I fight so hard against the Lordship of Christ? It's easy to accept Him as friend or savior, but say "Lord" and watch out. Why do we have such a hard time placing Christ as Lord of our lives?
In basic terms, I think it's because deep down we're all somewhat of control freaks. As soon as we are old enough to know what control is, we want it. It's kind of like the change that occurred in me after I got my driver's license. Before that day, I honestly had no problems with my Mom's driving. In fact, I actually tried to mirror mine after her. But after I got behind the wheel myself, something changed in me. After spending some time in the drivers seat, I wasn't an easy passenger. Just ask my family. Kristen the critic emerged:
"You've put your turning signal on too soon."
"Go faster, you're impeding traffic."
"Switch lanes, switch lanes!"
"You should have taken the other street, it's faster."
As funny as this may seem to you (it's not funny to my family- at all), I think my experience speaks great truth when it comes to our spiritual state.
You see, we don't have a problem having God in the driver's seat when the road is straight and there are no other cars around, but throw in few curves, a couple sets of traffic lights, and some traffic, and suddenly we are no longer silent passengers:
"How come we're stopping here?"
"We should have turned right back there!"
"The freeway is faster."
And sadly, many times we ask God to get out of the drivers seat completely. And since He is the God of free will, He hands us a road map and sends us off to navigate the road He created.
So we drive. We make wrong turns, we get lost, we break the law and sometimes we even have accidents. Yet we won't let the One that knows the road from start to finish navigate and we won't let the One with the perfect driving record drive.
I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of making wrong turns. I'm tired of driving through life so stressed out about the road ahead that I can't enjoy the section of road in front of me. Basically, I'm tired of driving, but the solution requires a decision that's not easy. It means I have to turn the wheel over.
To turn over the wheel to someone else all comes down to an issue of trust. God has proven over and over again in both the Bible and my own life, that He can be trusted and that He's more than capable of navigating through the roads of this life. So tonight, I commit to turning the wheel over, and I pray that you join me.
Ask yourself, can God be trusted and even if all you can breathe right now is a hesitant yes, then give Him control. You've got nothing to lose, only everything to gain.
To close, I'm going to read a part of a hymn you've probably heard many times. Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus:
"'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus"
by William J. Kirkpatrick and Louisa M. R. Snead
1. 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His word, Just to rest upon His promise, Just to know: "Thus saith the Lord."
Chorus: Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I've proved Him o'er and o'er! Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust Him more!
This devotional was aired as a part of the Making A Difference Christian Radio Show.