Wednesday, May 7, 2008
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I had a mountain of work to do to prepare for some radio programs I was scheduled to record, and the way things worked out, I had to travel by van about twelve hours with two of our team members. Now, I'm going to make one thing clear. I am a driver, okay, I'm not a passenger. I hate to ride. I love to drive. Problem: I had so much work to do it could easily fill the twelve hours we were traveling. So they set up this little office for me in the back of the van and they brought along a power pack that would allow me to use my computer all the way. So, very reluctantly I went to the back of the bus and settled into work and to watch someone else drive. Now, at first it drove me nuts. But by the end of the trip, I realized how much creative work I had completed in this office on wheels! Man, what a productive day I had, all because I let someone else drive.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Passenger Advantage."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 6:25. Jesus is describing what happens when we live as a passenger instead of a driver. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear." Then He says in verse 26, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them." He says in verse 32, "Pagans run after all these things, but your Heavenly Father knows you need them. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." You see, when it comes to the important needs and issues in our lives, we control-freaks want to make sure we're handling it, and Jesus says, "It's not your job, man. Get in the backseat. Your needs are the Father's job." Worrying, which He cautions against three times here, is a sure sign that you are driving. You obviously haven't turned over your trip to the Lord. In fact, "driver" wouldn't be a bad synonym for the word "Lord." We follow the Driver, Jesus Christ.
People without a relationship with the Father have to hang onto the wheel, spending the best of their energies, the best of their time looking out for their agenda. But Jesus nails that controlling approach to life with these simple words, "Your Heavenly Father knows that you need them." Quit trying to meet your own needs, it's His job. Then Jesus says that you'll be able to focus on God's agenda, to really get His work done. Why? For the same reason I was able to get so much done the day of the long drive, someone else was driving. When we're focused on driving our own life, driving those relationships, driving our ministry, driving our business, our children, our mate, we can't focus on serving and saving others. We're too busy driving.
It could be that the Lord is trying, right now, to pry your hands off that steering wheel of your life, or maybe some areas of your life that you just insist on controlling. He's inviting you to do what my team members invited me to do that long day in the van - go to the back, let someone else drive, and focus your efforts on your master and His work. Your life can be so much more productive if you will let go of the wheel! God has so much He wants to do in you, He want to do through you, but you've been too busy driving. Take it from a driver who's finally learning to ride - it's so much better being a passenger in a life that Jesus is driving. He won't fall asleep at the wheel, and He will never make a wrong turn, and He will never crash. And you? Well, you'll finally enjoy the blessed peace and productivity of the passenger advantage.