Who’s in the Driver’s Seat?
“BRACE YOURSELF, IT’S GONNA BE A BUMPY RIDE.”
Ever heard that saying? It means fasten your seatbelt. Expect some turbulance.
In life experiences, it means prepare yourself for something difficult or unpleasant.
When God is not in the driver’s seat of your story, bracing yourself means “I’m in charge of my own self-preservation.” Even if you believe in Him, you can choose to keep Him in the back seat of your life. We have the free will to do that.
That was me, for many years. And you know what I learned about bracing myself? It didn’t stop the disappointments. It didn’t stop the losses; the breakdowns on the side of the road; the fender benders or crashes. Often times we don’t get any advance notice of something difficult or unpleasant happening, and we’re blindsided.
A betrayal happens.
A broken relationship.
Loss of someone or something dear to us.
A dream we dared to dream, or a risk we dared to take ends up in failure.
That’s when we really learn the meaning of “brace yourself” – where the rubber meets the road. If we’re the one in the driver’s seat, hurt becomes a collection of self-preservation tools. “Brace yourself” means building a wall around our heart, as we try to control our future experiences (or at least prevent the experiences we don’t want to happen again).
I’ll never let myself be blindsided like that again.
I don’t ever want to feel that kind of pain again; it’s up to me to prevent it.
Nobody’s gonna look out for me, except me.
What happens next? The walls we’ve built for our own self-preservation begin blocking out the light of the lovely things. We stop daring to dream. We’re more careful and cautious about taking risks. We hold onto unforgiveness toward the people who have hurt us…toward ourselves for letting “it” happen in the first place (or how we contributed to what went wrong)…and sometimes, even toward God.
The braces we fashion -- and the seatbelts we fasten -- can become a prison, and we don’t even realize they’re detrimental to our well-being. We think it’s for our own safety, but when our focus is on fertilizing only “the fruit of self-control”, there’s little room for an abundance of all the other fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and gentleness – Galatians 5:22-23).
Even if we’re cultivating daily relationship with Christ, it doesn’t preclude us from a bumpy ride. In fact, the more we are committed to following Jesus, the more we can expect turbulence. The enemy does not want us to have easy passage and a smooth ride.
So, what’s the solution? Do we just take the blows whenever and wherever they come? Pick ourselves back up and blindly trust again, risk again, believe again?
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 says this:
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
What does that mean? His grace is enough. It covers everything. And in our greatest times of weakness, His strength shines forth the brightest from within our darkest hours.
When we “trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding…in all our ways submit to Him…” (Proverbs 3:5-6), His Word says He will make our paths straight. It doesn’t say there won’t be potholes and car trouble along the way.
In the midst of trials and challenges, He will keep us from careening off the cliffs of despair if we trust in Him. He orders our steps, and His lamp lights the path before us (Psalm 119:105). He’s our fuel after failure. His grace covers everything.
The more I’m in relationship with Jesus, the more I see and feel His grace in all circumstances. Like the most comforting blanket in the world, His grace covers anything that comes my way. There’s just one catch: I must choose to receive it. Just as a baby is wrapped in a “receiving blanket”, God wants to wrap us in His grace if we will let Him.
I’m in a new season of life. I’m taking new risks and big chances. I’m choosing faith over fear; I’m daring to dream big dreams again. But this time, I’m choosing to let God be in the driver’s seat of my story. I’m no longer bracing myself; I’m gracing myself. I’m choosing to receive the blanket of His grace each and every day, come what may...
Wherever the white line goes down the rest of this life’s road.