Learner’s Permit

When you drive, you have to feel the car, and let it become an extension of your body. You and the car become one, and then you’re in control.

When I first started driving, this was what I was struggling with the most. I would always float about in the lane, drifting one side to the other. I would look directly in front of the nose of the car to correct my movements, but that only made it worse. I would cause my dad to experience true terror as I narrowly missed colliding with oncoming traffic. 

I started driving much smoother when I stopped worrying about where the car was going at the moment and looked up at where I wanted the car to go further down the road. 

Once I did that I had a better perspective. I could see where the oncoming traffic was coming from, where the deer were grazing nearby, and the signs warning me about hazards in the road. All of a sudden, just by looking further down the road, I would end up getting where I needed to be. I was more aware of what was going on around me. 

And I started to realize I was no longer fighting against the car.

I gave it my trust, trusting that it would go where I wanted it to go, and I didn’t have to watch its every movement. 

When I did that, I became one with the car, letting it become a part of myself and trusting that it would obey my guidance.

Maybe that’s why God wants us to give Him control, so that we can be wholly united with Him.

Without the driver, the car is lifeless, purposeless and immobile. The car can’t drive itself. It needs someone to start it, give it gas, accelerate it, and guide it down the road.

Likewise, we can’t control ourselves either. We are helpless without God.

We need His life, His nourishment, His drive, and His guidance if we are to fulfill our purpose and have meaning and life. His purpose calls us to be a transport for Christ to other people, that He might bless, heal, and correct others through us.

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Josiah Mallory

Josiah Mallory is a staff writer for The Daily Runner.