At a recent Celebrate Recovery open-share group meeting the
discussion centered around the disappointment we often have with God for not rescuing
us as we would like from our difficulties. With our emphasis on “Seeing God for
Who He Is” on Sunday mornings, I think it would be good to take a look at our
expectations of what God could or should do when we cry out to Him in our
distress.
Here is the scenario that I find myself in oftentimes: My
life is comparable to an old car that I have not maintained well and push to
its limits. The tires are bald, the brakes are worn, the steering is loose, and
I am traveling at full speed in the wrong direction. Ahead is a corner with a
suggested speed of 25 but my speedometer is registering 120 mph. There is not
enough time or brakes to brake, the tires will not take the pressure, and there
is no hope of steering around the corner. I throw up my hands and yell in the
words of Carrie Underwood’s country song, “Jesus Take the Wheel!!”
How do you think this scene is going to play out? After all
the Psalmist says “In my trouble I cried to the Lord, And He answered me.” (Psalm 120:1, NASB95). Is God always obligated to answer me according
to my will or according to His will? It would surely be rather presumptuous of
me to get myself in such a position and not expect a crash of some sort. He can and does reach into my mess and in some
incredible ways creates good in the midst of it (Romans 8:28), though it may
not result in an intact vehicle on the other side of the corner. Sometimes
there are some bumps, bruises, and broken bones that allow us to grow through
the experience.
The first problem with our scenario is the condition of our
vehicle (our life). How can we expect to receive the blessings of God when we
allow our lives to be so poorly maintained? Though we start out as “new
creations in Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17), the new often wears off and we do not
practice the disciplines needed to keep our relationship fresh. We do not spend a consistent daily time with
the Lord, our Bible’s grow dusty, and we fail to fellowship with His people,
the church.
The second problem is the direction of our lives. If we
choose to go our own way or the world’s way instead of finding and following
the direction of God in our lives, we can expect to have some crashes caused by
us and allowed by God to teach us the peril of ignoring God’s good plans for us
(Jer. 29:11). Like a car going downhill, we gain speed quickly and sin builds
upon sin until we reach an untenable, uncontrollable momentum that we cannot
stop.
It is great to call upon the Lord, to give Jesus control,
but wouldn't it be better to do it when our lives are on track and well
maintained than to wait until we are so close to impending doom that the
natural consequences of our actions are going to result in a wreck that we are
blessed to survive. Jesus wants to take the wheel and will guide and lead us by
still waters and into green pastures (Psalms 23) if we will give Him control. I
thank God that He hears and rescues me from many distresses, but I thank Him
more for guiding me on the narrow road through my fresh daily walk with him.
