JANUARY 26, 2010

WHO'S IN THE

DRIVER'S SEAT?

Scripture Reading--Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own

understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct thy paths."

We had finished lunch in the camp dining room and were going back to the trailer where we were staying. As we climbed into the van, I asked my toddler-age son, Andrew, if he would like to drive. He quickly agreed and climbed onto my lap.

As we headed down the gravel road through the woods, I took my hands off the steering wheel, and he took the wheel with his little hands. In a moment, we were in a crisis! Ahead was the ditch, the hedgerow, and even a tree.

Andrew couldn't stay on the road for anything. To make things more exciting, I stepped on the accelerator, and the van lunged forward. I hit the brakes just before we had a collision. Andrew laughed, screamed, and threw his hands into the air.

I put the van into reverse and backed up. Meanwhile, my wife and daughter were laughing uncontrollably in the backseats.

Each time we almost had another collision, I included a fun "lecture" about good driving. After the third incident, Andrew took his hands off the steering wheel and blurred, "I can't do it. You'll have to drive." A moment later, we were safely home.

What does "acknowledge him" mean? In toddler language, it means, "I can't do it. You'll have to drive." It's the acknowledgment that I can't get where I'm supposed to go by myself. I must have God's hand guiding me.

Could it be that many times we've gotten on the wrong half of Proverbs 3:6? We try so hard to direct our own paths when all God wants is for us to simply acknowledge Him. He just wants us to stay on our half of the verse.

EXERCISE: Blindfold one of your children and see how well he can follow directions without seeing where he's going. Discuss "trusting."

--Tom Palmer--

READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN " 1 " YEAR: Job cc.35-37