Following Requires Trust
I think it's safe to say that we've all been in the car with someone who was confident in where they were going, but was often second guessed and interrogated or directed by someone in the passenger seats.
Every time I read this verse I think of being in the car with my grandparents, Ethel and McElery aka Mom and Daddy Mac or just Mac for short. Mac enjoyed driving, unless it was a long trip with Mom. Mom was never sure about the routes Mac would take. She always gave advice and pointed out different exits and turns he should take. Mac would politely respond with a "Yes dear." and continue on the way he was going. If her directing got too bad he'd just turn up the radio.
I liked watching my grandfather plan for long trips. Keep in mind this was before Map Quest, Google and GPS. He would start planning months in advance. My grandfather would have different maps spread out on the dining room table and he would write out various routes. He would then compile all of that information and memorize the main route. He'd write out the alternate routes and keep them in the glove compartment. Sometimes the trips took longer due to traffic or an unforeseen incident or accident, but Mac always had a plan and I don't recall us ever getting stuck. I do recall all of Mom's "Mac you're not listening to me." "Mac why are we going this way?" "Mac that exit was ours and we missed it" "Mac this doesn't feel right. I think we should turn around."
Mom never did relax during those long trips and it wasn't because she didn't love Mac. She just thought she knew better. While Mac was up late into the night planning the routes she was sleeping. When he took the car in for a tune up to see if it could safely make the trip to and from the destination, she was doing something else. She wasn't there when he put the Emergency Roadside or First Aid Kits together. She wasn't there when he was on the phone with different road stops to see how late they were open, if they had bathrooms, restaurants and if they were kid friendly. She wasn't around when he'd call other friends or family members who had taken the same trip before to verify information or change something in the route. She wasn't present for the planning. What was truly ironic is how much she would praise Mac for getting to the destination safely! She'd tell everyone what a good driver he was.
We're like that with God more often than we'd like to admit. We forget that He is sovereign and that all of His purposes and plans will come to pass. We weren't present for the planning but He has given us a road map in His Word and He has led us through many dangers, trails and traps. He has provided and protected us all this way. He is faithful and we can trust Him. Our ideas are not better than His. He sees the end from the beginning. We can only see where we are and where we've been.
When we got in the car with Mom and Mac we knew three things:
1.We knew where we were going
2. Mom was going to side drive the whole way
3. Mac would get us to our destination safely
Sometimes with God we don't know where we're going but we have an ultimate destination and our eyes should be fixed there because everything else is a road stop. God doesn't need us to side drive. He will get us to all of our road stops and to our ultimate destination safely. We can trust Him in the midst of the drive, not just when we arrive.
In Christ,
Storm
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