His Ways Are Not Our Ways

Several years ago I was agonizing over one area in my life. I desired to be at one place and wanted to take the most direct and easy route to get there. God gave me a dream about it that was helpful. In the dream my dad and I were driving in a car, I was in the driver’s seat and my dad was in the passenger seat. There was a direct route to the other side of the river through an under water tunnel, to the place I wanted to go to. We ran into a problem, there was construction being done at the opening of the tunnel and the workers were not letting anyone through. At some point I realized that I had no idea how to get over to the other side and needed to let my dad get in the driver’s seat. When my dad was driving, he proceeded to take me to a very twisty and turning road. From that road, I couldn’t see how it could get me to where I wanted to go, but I knew it was the right way to go.

I woke up that next morning determined to let God sit in the driver’s seat and take me on the difficult and unknown road to bring me, possibly not to that one place that I wanted to be across the river but to the place that He wants to take me. Around ten years later, I’m still on that twisty and turning road with God in the driver’s seat, although there have been times along the way where I’ve taken that driver’s seat, only to be reminded, painfully, to give that seat back to Him. When I think of  Isaiah 55:8, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways”, I am humbled. I am humbled to know that no matter how many books I read, how much time I spend reading and studying The Bible, no matter how many hours I spend in listening prayer, I will never have the complete knowledge, understanding or wisdom that is needed to be in the driver’s seat. This thought is both humbling and a reason to be so incredibly thankful that there is someone who does have that complete and perfect wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Someone that wants to be in the driver’s seat of my life and take me where He knows is the best and most peaceful place for me to be. It is a place of knowing that my value and my beauty is found not in how others perceive me or interpret my actions, but in who God created me to be. There is no place that I would rather be than to be resting in the passenger seat while The One with all knowledge, wisdom and power is driving me to the place of perfect peace, perfect love and amazing joy.

There has been some debate over the years in the Christian world about keeping the Sabbath holy. Some feel that Sundays or Saturdays need to be days of rest, which is always very healing and rejuvenating to our busy lives. When I read in Hebrews 4 that “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” I believe this means that we are to always walk in an attitude of rest. The context of Hebrews 4 is that Jesus did the work for us when He died and was raised from the dead, He paid the penalty that I owed and that you owed. What does this attitude of rest look like on a day to day basis? We all need to work in order to survive and to bless those around us. It is possible to be in an attitude of rest in the midst of our work. For me, it means waking up every morning and surrendering my schedule to God. I look at my calendar and say “God, these are my plans today, but I don’t want to do any of these things unless they are your plans. Help me to see every interruption or complication to this day as an opportunity to walk in your greater plan for me.” There are days that I feel the car driving on the part of the road that twists and turns away from where I want to go.  The temptation is always to jump back into that driver’s seat and get going back the way that I think is the right way to go. The problem is that His ways are not my ways, His thoughts are not my thoughts. My attempts to take over always fail in one way or another, and I’m so glad they do because it reminds me to let Him take the wheel once again.  In John 16:33 it says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” He told us that we would struggle. The twists and turns of the road, they hurt, but I trust My Driver to get me to that place on the other side of the river, the place where pain turns to joy, where friction in relationship turns to peace, the place where I know and rest in his unconditional and complete love for me, the place He made me to dwell in.