ride with me

If you want to go and take a ride wit me... kidding, I am not writing a blog about a Nelly song, although, I think that could be very fun and potentially effective. I just couldn't name the post that and not make the joke, okay, okay, now that the potentially inappropriate joke is over, on to the real content. Don't judge me, God knows my heart. 

Go back in time with me. You are driving a car for the first time and there is a person in the passenger seat to help you. This person has their own steering wheel and brakes and is giving you directions on where to go and how to get there. When to stop, when to go, when to turn, how to merge, when to slow down, the "point of no return", and how to accomplish the dread that is parallel parking. Driver's Ed - what an experience.

I was recently challenged with this thought - what if I lived my life with Jesus in the passenger seat? He holds the map for my life and it is perfect and leads to my final destination. He knows my next turn, my destination, and all the turns I need to take to get there. He could just throw the map to me, tell me good luck and send me on my way. Instead, he jumps in the car. For most of my life, I thought I was the passenger. I thought that Jesus just drove me around and made decisions for me and I was just along for the ride but I am learning that this isn't how He works. We are in control of our choices, we even have to put the effort forth to push the gas and hit the brakes when necessary, but we have a passenger who knows the way and would love to share the journey with us.

To be completely honest, if he handed me the map to my life, I would look at the final destination and take the quickest route. There is no way I would choose the long way if I knew where I was headed and saw a shortcut. If he handed me the map, I would miss SO much along the ride. But Jesus, in his kindness, wants to be a part of the process. He sits there and spends time with us. Over and over again as I have faced decisions about different things in life, he has repeated himself, "stay where you are until I tell you to turn." Simple. Why do we make it so difficult? Why do I need a 5/10/50 year plan when I know that my next step is the right one? Every time he has asked me to do something, to turn, it has been so incredibly clear. Why would I try to make that decision on my own? I hate making decisions. He is not late to give direction, but just on time. I am learning that I sometimes have too much going on to hear him. He isn't going to yell "LEFT" at me if I am pre-occupied phoning a friend asking which way I should go next. If the radio is too loud to hear his voice tell me my turn is ahead, then I might miss it. I am learning in this season that the voice of God guiding my steps is 1000 times more important than anything or anyone else I may be listening to because they don't have the map. Only God does.

There are times where we may miss the voice and take a wrong turn or keep going forward when we should have turned right. His grace is sufficient for us. He turns every wrong or missed turn into something good. A detour may teach you a lesson you never would have learned on the original path, this has been true for me. Taking a U-turn may develop a skill in you that you would not have developed otherwise. Running off the road may run you into someone else who needs your help to get back on it. The destination is not a certain job/position/title, it is eternity in heaven. Jesus wants to ride with us all the way until forever and we will never really know what that path looks like for us until we have completed it and entered into eternity. As soon as we begin our relationship with Jesus, when we say "ride with me", he jumps right in the passenger seat and starts showing us where to go. He takes us from directionless, driving in circles, to the path to a destination far better than we could create for ourselves. We may need to stop for gas a few times, make a few pit stops, grab some coffee, maybe make a couple wrong turns, but he never leaves that seat. He is in it for life with us and his grace abounds. God has only good things for those who love him, for those who invite him into the passenger seat to ride with me, and who listen to his voice.

     A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

     The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way. (Psalms 37:23)

     Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21)

The first 31 days of 2021 have been a whirlwind. What seemed to be the light at the end of the tunnel might have just been light shining through a crack of a tunnel that continues. Despite the state of our lives in this new year, or the mess of a year we just survived, all we need to do is listen for our next turn. If we ride with Him, enjoy the journey, and just keep driving, he will let us know when to go right or left. He always does, we just have to be ready to hear him. He is teaching me how to hear his direction but also to enjoy the ride. Thank you, Jesus, that through the chaos that is now and is to come, you keep guiding me, leading me, and being my perfect peace.