Where are you in your relationship with Jesus? If you are struggling and feel distant from Him, I have a suggestion for you. It guarantees that you will be praying more than ever and that you will be closer in your relationship with Him.
Ready? Here it goes: Teach a teenager to drive.
Never have I experienced more personal revival than in this season of my life. Palms sweaty. Heart racing. Fervent, sincere prayers. Zealous crying out to the Lord. Excitement and tears simultaneously. Full on come-to-Jesus moments at 60 mph in the Jeep Cherokee. If you’ve been through this season and survived, you can relate.
Instead of working on personal evangelism classes and methods, we simply need to seek out lost people and put them into the passenger seat of the vehicle of a new driver. A fresh spiritual awakening would immediately come over the land. I’m exaggerating… slightly. Tyler’s a good driver, but oh my, what it does to his dear ol’ dad’s heart! My Apple watch surely thinks I’ve started marathon training.
Why is it that teaching your child(ren) to drive is so hard for parents? I think the main reason is that there are so many things that could possibly go wrong…and quickly! Even if you teach them 100% of everything they need to know, and they learn it 100% correctly, there is still one more HUGE variable: Every. Other. Driver. On. The. Road. So, even when he’s fully trained, through no fault of his own, things could still go wrong.
But, what are my options? He must learn to drive. It’s my job to train him. That is pretty much parenting in a nutshell. Christy & I have the God-given responsibility to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” And we’ve got to do it. There is no other option. And yet, even when fully trained, bad things can happen and things can go wrong.
What are we to do? Read again God’s word:
Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
The one thing I often tell Tyler while driving is “stay in your lane.” So long as he stays in his lane and other drivers stay in theirs, all will be well. The same is true in our walk with God. We must stay in our lane. We do what God has called us to do (our lane) AND trust that God will handle everything else (His lane). Trouble comes when we leave our lane.
So, stay in your lane. It’s good advice for driving; even better advice for living.