Cruise Control

For the many times I have taken road trips, I have never used the Cruise Control system because I have been told that using it makes one burn more gas. I will have to look into that claim. One of the advantages though to using cruise control, is the fact that you allow your feet to relax, provided there is no traffic slowing you down.

Having seen Leah use the system as she drove, I figured I would use it when my turn came. Driving twenty hours from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to Carthage, Missouri, was an adventure. Leah, and her two kids Hanna and Trevor, had invited me to spend Christmas with them and her family. I was excited, looking forward to the trip and meeting up with her family. Twenty hours did not seem like such a big deal, especially if we would be taking turns helping each other drive.


The roads and the weather were clear. The speed limit was 70 miles per hour-perfect. As I took over to drive, I ventured to set the cruise control at 75 miles per hour. What I experienced right after was not what I had anticipated. I felt like I had lost control of my driving. My right foot felt like it had no purpose. The temptation to step on the gas paddle was so strong, even though there was no need to do so, the car was in cruise control mode. On a few occasions, allow me to be honest, I succumbed to stepping on the gas or break paddle because I thought I was losing my mind not having control of the driving. This went on for a good twenty minutes as I tried to be comfortable with the cruise control. At one point in those twenty some minutes, I was so tense, I could feel my shoulders tighten and my neck hurting, I wondered if it was worth using the system. Regardless, I stayed with it until I become comfortable in letting it take over and the journey become more delightful.

Me being me, I try to learn lessons from things I go through or encounter whenever I can and this cruise control was becoming a lesson in and of itself. The lesson of control and letting go was evident...thanks to a technical system. A part of me wanted to let go to allow myself the luxury of letting the system take control, but a part of me wanted to control the system because that is all I knew to do. Sounds like the battle I have with Lord most times, the feeling of Him telling me to let go and let Him take over, and me fighting to hold on to stuff because that is all I know to do. In the process of these battles, I tense up because I know God knows more than I do, but the idea of letting go is so foreign that it is borderline frightening.

But I have to let go for my own benefit. Proverbs 21:24 states, "Man's ways are ordained by the Lord, how then can he understand his ways?" God is the one who understands us and knows what is absolutely beneficial and He is relentless at wanting us to know that lesson. He will go the extra mile to drive that point across-case in point, Matthew 11: 28-30
states:

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

John 7: 37 states, "... Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink."

God is relentless and He will continue being such until we get comfortable with Him running our lives.

My perception of God sometimes is what makes it difficult for me to give Him full control of my life. I sometimes look at Him as a fellow human being:

1. It feels like I am burdening Him with all my problems and I do not want to come across needy to Him.
2. He cannot fully help me out because when I needed Him to "come through" the last time, He did not and that kind of left me hanging and hurt.
3. He is not really that concerned about what I am going through right now, so I might as well do it myself.
   

The list can go on about why I struggle giving God control of my life, and with every excuse I have, whether it feels legitimate and all, it does not justify the reason why I cannot trust God to lead my life. He is the one who "leads us to green pastures." He is the one who says, "Cast all your cares on me because I care for you." He is the one who declares, "He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." Life is full of ups and downs, and there will be times we will NEVER understand why things happen the way the do, but that does not take away from God being God and Him wanting to lead us on the path of abundant life.

As I got comfortable with the cruise control, I prayed a simple prayer to God. "Lord help me be comfortable with you leading my life. I pray that I let go of the gas and break paddle in my life as you drive me. Please open my eyes so that I can enjoy this journey because I am utilizing what has so freely being given to me, your lead. Please cruise control my life Lord."