I usually drive, but occasionally my wife gets behind the wheel. Don’t tell her, but I don’t really like being in the passenger seat when she drives.1 I never feel like she is paying as close attention to the road as she needs to be. She goes faster than I am comfortable with, and she has the tendency to drift into other lanes. There have even been a few times when the situation seemed so desperate that I reached for the steering wheel from the passenger seat!
The irony is that I am told by my passengers that I am a terrible driver myself! I hate to admit it, but they’re probably right. I’ve been in my fair share of wrecks, I frequently get pulled over by the police for breaking various traffic laws, and I am probably not as risk-averse as I should be. Yet, when things get scary from my view in the passenger seat, I reach for the wheel. How funny is that? What help do I think I can possibly bring from the passenger seat‽ I’m a bad driver from the driver’s seat, much less the passenger side!
Whatever your driving skills are, my guess is that there are places and times in your life when you are prone to reach for the wheel. You get some bad news concerning your health. Your relationships are crumbling. Debt is piling up, and your reflex is to reach for the wheel.
So often, when life gets a little bumpy we freak out, and we reach for control. I don’t know if you’ve ever really considered it, but you’re probably not the best one to be in control. You don’t possess the ability to change many of life’s problems. And for many more of life’s problems, you’re the one who got you into the mess in the first place. We want to be in control, but we’re not really qualified for it.
The good news is that there is one who is qualified to be in control. He is all-powerful, so no situation is too much for him. Best of all, he loves you and wants what is best for you! Who is this one? His name is Jesus. If we can bring ourselves to not wrestle the wheel away from him in times of uncertainty, we will find that we are in very capable hands. And when we are in those hands, we can find peace — even in the most uncertain of circumstances.
1. I hope she’s not reading this devo today! Lauren, if you are reading this, I don’t mean any of this stuff. I’m just making it all up for the sake of making a spiritual point. You’re the best driver I know.↩