Trusting the Driver

Yesterday, I had dinner with a friend from college whom I had not seen for over three years.  We met at Pepperjax, a fun Omaha joint, and chatted away two and a half hours.  As we discussed the course of our lives and contemplated what God is up to in us, my friend said, "I have realized that I may not know where I am going, but I know Who I am following."

Her words resonated with me and they were all the more poignant because she was speaking them from within the midst of hard trials in her life.  Most of us like to have an understanding of the game plan of our future. We feel secure if we think we know what's coming in the next few months or years of our existence.  We delight in life if we think we have a grasp of what's happening and if we can see a clear vision of the road out the front window. 

Yet, as anyone with any experience in life knows, the front window gets foggy sometimes and the defrost just doesn't seem to work.  Sometimes the road is filled with potholes and roadblocks and seemingly dangerous terrain.  Sometimes the roadsigns are taken away and the GPS system is broken to boot.  Sometimes, the Driver doesn't seem to know where He is going and we are forced to bite our tongues and swallow fear.  Sometimes we want to take over the steering wheel and pull onto the highway next over that appears calm, safe, and much more comfortable. 

As a believer, and in light of all that I understand about the way God created me and about what it means to have a new life in Christ, I want Christ to be in the driver's seat of my life.  I know better than to think that taking over the course of my life will be the best plan of action for me.  Is it even possible for me to wholly manage my life on my own? 

My uncle was recently talking about the concept of "free will" at his church.  He mentioned that such a concept is fallacious.  We do have the ability to make choices, but we are not free to do absolutely anything we want.  For example, we are not free to just go to the moon on a whim.  There are some things we cannot do even if we so desire.  It would be more accurate to say we have "limited will".  Therefore, even from a logical standpoint (not to mention a Biblical one), I come back to the conclusion that surrendering my all to Christ is the only wise, life-giving, God-glorifying, joyful, peaceful, and fulfilling way to live.

That doesn't mean that surrender is not frightening or that trusting my future to Christ is always easy.  There are times when the track of life down which Christ leads me becomes dark.  Yet, with Christ by my side, darkness should not cause despair.  As Corrie Ten Boom put it, "When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” 

May I never desire to rush from under the shadow of Christ's wings.  May I never scramble to move when the cloud has not lifted.  May I never attempt to steer my own life.  May I never run in front of my Shepherd.  Instead, may I trust the Lord with my whole heart (Prov. 3:5) and believe that He will fulfill His purposes for me (Psalm 138:8).