I’m driving in a confusing rental car up Seven Mountains to get home to State College. Because of my bad knee, I can rarely drive more than 20 minutes without immense pain. So when traveling to speaking events, Cruise Control becomes my best friend so I can rest and stretch my knee. Yesterday, after speaking all weekend on God’s goodness and care for us, I found myself in that rental car, ready to engage Cruise Control so I wouldn’t have to ever press the gas pedal.
I press the button. Nothing. It won’t engage!
For an hour, I keep trying. Soon, I’ll have to pull over to rest my knee. As I approach the treacherous stretch of road over Seven Mountains, I cry out in exasperation all about how God is supposed to love me and care for me. And He’s supposed to answer prayer, and I asked specifically to fix the Cruise Control. Nothing. Where are you God? Help me!
Desperate, I start pressing every strange button on this fancy rental car. Suddenly, the dashboard lights up bright green, and everything changes. It’s like other hands have taken over the wheel. It’s like another foot is pressing the gap pedal. Even on the most winding roads, the car is miraculously driving itself.
I had found the “Self-Driving” feature. The car was indeed driving itself. This was far better that the half-control of Cruise Control. This was a full takeover.
Had God answered my prayer for Cruise Control, I would have never experienced the far better feature. A better blessing awaited. I also reflected later how so much of the Christian life settles for a type of Cruise Control living where we want God to empower our lives, but we still control the steering. Instead, God wants a full takeover. He want to empower and drive our whole lives.
I crested the mountain with Jesus. I wasn’t driving. I sat back, resting and marveling at the beauty all around me. He took me all the way home safely.