Who’s the Driver?

I was in town today and saw a couple pull into a fast food location. I didn’t notice who drove, but the young woman took control of the situation. She knew what she wanted to eat and drink. She chose not to stay there, but to eat in the car. I looked around the small parking lot a figured they had the big pick up truck. As she took control of everything else, I knew that she would also be the driver, but I was wrong... sort of. She walked right to the passenger side and climbed in, waiting for him to catch up so that they could go. As he got in, I could see that she was continuing to take control and decide what they would be doing. He seemed to gladly follow, but even though he was in the drivers seat, I don’t think he was really driving. I’m not making a statement of what the man and woman should be doing. They both looked content and it worked for them. I was struck by the fact that even though he had the big “macho” truck, she was the one that seemed to drive (direct which way the truck was going to go). The passenger, male or female, should not be calling the shots when it comes to driving. The driver is solely responsible for what happens when behind the wheel. If anything goes wrong, it is the driver that gets blamed. I’m sure you have all heard the quip, “If Jesus is your co-pilot, He is in the wrong seat!” I was reminded that even though many Christians claim to be surrendered to God, they often try to drive from the passenger seat. When they pray, sometimes they have already figured out how God should answer. We are more likely to bring our requests to God rather than consider what other things should be lifted up to HIm. We seek to accomplish our goals while ignoring what God’s word calls us to do... make disciples by going, baptizing, and teaching others to obey the Word. God says, “Be still and know that I am God”, but the whole time we are still, we are thinking about what we should be doing, instead of praising and worshiping our king, our redeemer, and our hope. I’m not going to ask you if you are a back-seat driver, but I would like to know what seat God is in? If you have surrendered the driver's seat, do you let God lead, or are you trying to get God to do what you want Him to. Lord, the world is telling us that we need to look out for number one, which is us. God, help us to deny ourselves and follow you. Amen.