Travels

I have been working on a devotion book for some time now.  It’s a collection of stuff me and my dad wrote over the years.  Much of it written before we had blogs or Facebook pages.  As I was going through the material tonight, I found the bit below and felt I should post it here.  If the book ever gets finished, maybe it will be there too.

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When I was a little kid, my family used to take long trips to visit my grandparents. Often times we would leave late in the afternoon and travel well into the morning hours.  While my sister and I slept in the back seat, Dad was in the drivers seat, in complete control of our destiny.  Sometimes I wish I could do that with God.  I have so much trouble with my own selfish will, I would like to climb into the back seat of my life, go to sleep, and leave God in complete control. If I could I would push a button and give Him permission to annihilate my self, fill me with Himself and control me like a sock puppet.  I think God knows that and appreciates it.  But it’s not exactly what He wants. That would be too easy for me and too meaningless for Him.

Now that I am an adult and have a family of my own, my perspective is a bit different. It is now my children who sleep in the back seat as we travel along and my wife who rides along beside me. While I am grateful to have the children along, it is my wife, my true travel companion, who I most appreciate. She is there beside me, sometimes riding, sometimes driving but always sharing the common goal that is our destination.

People say ”Put God in the drivers seat.  Turn the steering wheel over to God and move to the back seat.”   Well I don’t think that’s what God wants at all.  At best, that makes Him the car owner and me a back seat cushion.  At worst, He becomes a chauffeur and me a back seat driver; yelling instructions and complaining about the direction MY life is taking.  The one makes me irrelevant (The cross proves He loves me too much for that.)  The other does not really put Him in control at all, for I still reserve the right to question Him if He does not follow the direction I think He should.

No, I think He wants me to stay in the driver’s seat. He has given me my life as a vehicle to serve Him.  He would not have me hand over the wheel, but stay in the driver’s seat and at every turn along every mile follow His direction, every moment listening, watching, and asking for His guidance.  “Do we turn here? Should I stop there?  Shall I give that stranger a lift?”  That is what it means for me to daily, willingly, deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Him.  Even from the driver’s seat, a one-time once-for-all relinquishing of my will would be too easy for me, and would leave Him with me as the faceless chauffeur.   God won’t be chauffeur and He doesn’t want me to be one either. What He really wants, is a willing travel companion on a glorious journey where only he knows the way.  He’s giving direction; I’m listening and following His instruction.  Sometimes I may miss a turn, but if I am willing to acknowledge it and turn around, He’ll get me back on track.  Following His travel plan, I will arrive at life’s destination at the right place and time.  And when I do, I might even realize that a journey with God is more about the trip than the destination.

-JMS