Dec 9.97: Light For The Day - "Hands off the Steering Wheel!"

"A man's mind plans his way,
but the LORD directs his steps."
-- Proverbs 16:9 (RSV)

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"Hands off the Steering Wheel!" 

I flew out of the house, hopped behind the steering
wheel of my old car and sped off to the gas station.
Pulling up to the pump, I realized how totally
distracted I was: I didn't even remember driving 
there. 

This is making me crazy, I thought. I was trying to
choose a college, trying to plan my future and I
really didn't know what to do. I knew what I wanted
to do, but standing between me and that option
were several huge obstacles, all of which were out
of my control. 

I had been praying about this decision. I figured
God was powerful enough to remove the obstacles
so I could make the choice I wanted. But days,
then weeks, passed and God wasn't delivering
what I was asking for. I was beyond frustrated. 

I finished pumping the gas and pulled around the
corner to receive the automatic car wash that
came free with my fill-up. 

"Put it in neutral, hands off the steering wheel." 

The bored-looking man's instructions didn't
register with my brain any more than the drive to
the gas station had. I started driving forward
toward the suds and spinning brushes. 

"Hey. Hey! HEY!" 

The attendant's voice had lost its monotone and
was now cutting sternly into my private thoughts. 

"I said put it in neutral and keep your hands off the
steering wheel!" 

It seemed to take all the restraint he could muster
to keep from adding the words, "you moron." 

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said. "I was thinking about
something else." 

The man's weather-beaten face softened noticeably
when he heard my apology, then he tempered his
impatience with a little car-wash wisdom: "It's
automatic, son. You just bring the car up to the line.
I do the rest." 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not
on your own understanding; in all your ways
acknowledge him, and he will make your paths
straight." -- Proverbs 3:5-6 

As my car was slowly being changed from filthy to
clean, I started to wonder about God's apparent
silence in the face of my prayers. Maybe the
silence was his way of telling me I hadn't yet put
my will in neutral and allowed him to steer my life.
I'd been struggling to make this major decision.
But I'd been leaning on my own understanding.
I wasn't really trusting God to guide me. 

I was merely asking him to give me what I wanted. 

A couple of weeks later, God answered my prayer
by providing an answer that was better than
anything I'd imagined. I realized how important it
had been to put my will in "neutral" in seeking
God's guidance. And the words of the car-wash
man echoed in my mind: 

"It's automatic, son. You just bring the car up to
the line. I do the rest." 

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"I will instruct you and teach you the way you
should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon
you." -- Proverb 32:8 (RSV) 
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