Trusting the Driver

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t see the lines on the highway. What matters is that I can.”

What my husband said recently as he drove us back from Taos, New Mexico to our rented condo in Santa Fe has repeatedly been going through my mind.

We had a great time in Taos exploring the town by looking for treasures in the little shops and eating at a local restaurant. And of course we had to stop at a candy store and buy some treats. Chile brittle certainly was tasty.

Now we were on our way back and suddenly right after it got dark, the black clouds which we had seen in the distance erupted. Fortunately we were on a straight highway and not on mountain roads because the visibility was abominable. All around us cars were pulling over to wait out the storm.

Then the hail started. The frozen balls were the size of peas, but they certainly didn’t help matters.

This was one of the worst storms I had ever been through—even though we’re from Florida where downpours happen often. Driving on through the darkness with the torrential rain pounding down on us didn’t seem like a good idea.

“Honey, shouldn’t we pull over too?” I asked Steve.

“Don’t worry. I can still see the lines on the road,” he said as he drove at a snail’s pace of around 15 miles per hour.

“But I can’t see them,” I answered, trying to keep the panic from my voice.

And that’s when he made the statement:

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t see the lines on the highway. What matters is that I can.”

Even as I prayed pleading with God for a safe return to Santa Fe, I couldn’t help but make a spiritual application at that moment in regard to what he said.

How often I’ve had the same attitude with God.

“But Lord, I can’t see what’s ahead.”

And His assurance has been “Don’t worry; I can.”

But it’s been hard not to worry. Why? Because I haven’t had complete trust in the “driver”—just like I didn’t have complete trust in my husband to make his way through the dark night with rain beating down on us. Even though he had worked for a number of years as a courier—a professional driver—and had driven many thousands of miles more than I had, I still gave in to fear. Also, he had done most of the driving on trips all over the country—to forty-nine states including a trip from Florida to Alaska with me, two children, and two dogs.

Sometimes it’s still hard to trust humans.

But God is perfect. He sees everything. He can’t make mistakes. Yet I still fail to trust Him completely as the expert “driver” in this car called my life. I want to tell Him what to do. I have a fearful attitude of, “But I can’t see what lies ahead.”

And repeatedly He assures me, “I can.”

One of the verses in the Bible that tells how well He sees in the dark stormy nights of our lives is this one:

“even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” Psalm 139:12 NIV

That verse about God amazes me. The truth of the matter is if I stay connected to the Lord, I don’t have to worry about the darkness or storms in the night because He sees everything.

What a comfort that is as I feel tempted to have dread about certain things which may loom ahead down the road in my life.

I choose to embrace the truth God whispers to my heart again and again when I start to panic with “I can’t see what’s ahead.”

“Don’t worry, my child. I can.”

PS We made it safely back to Santa Fe where we enjoyed the rest of our vacation.

*****

Here’s the link to a song that encouraged me this week:

“You Carry Me” by Moriah Peters