Hand over Hand

The roads were a bit slick, since freezing rain had fallen through the night.
I spun out the next day on black ice…back when I was a college student.
There was no damage to my car…or to any other car.
I was alone, in the daytime, on a back road…with no one else around.
It was a frightening experience…to lose control…even for a second.

I was thinking of that today…remembering when I was sixteen and first learned to drive.
I was a good driver, but there was one thing I could not master.
I insisted on helping the steering wheel turn.

No matter how much I was told, it didn’t sink in.
I was told over and over that I didn’t have to help.
The steering wheel would go back on its own.
I insisted on turning the wheel, hand over hand, until it was in the starting position again.

My father was teaching me at the time…and had no patience with me on this matter.
He actually had a neighbor drive with me to see what I did…and help me correct it.
Mr. E was so kind, soft-spoken, gentle…had taught two of his own children to drive.

We approached a corner.
Mr. E watched everything I did.
Left blinker on.
Stop at the stop sign.
Get ready to turn…turn left…then help the steering wheel get back to position.

Mr. E gently said,“You don’t have to do that. The car does it for you. Just leave your hand there…that’s right…just like that. There you go! See? The car is doing all the work.”

Whether it was his kindness…or his calmness…I finally got it!
I understood.
He kept telling me to turn here…turn there.
Each time, my hand remained gently on the steering wheel.
I acquiesced.

I smiled and sighed a great sigh of relief.
I was taking my driver’s test soon, and knew that my hand over hand turning would have kept me from passing my driver’s test.

We got back home.
I thanked Mr. E over and over.
I was so grateful to him.

Ironically, I failed my driver’s test the first time.
The instructor said that I rolled through the first stop sign.
My turning was “perfect” however.

As we go through life, we try to assist God.
We know in our heads that He is in control.
We insist on keeping our hands on the wheel…just in case!

Hand over hand…we turn on the road of life’s journey.
We won’t submit.
Which means we don’t really trust Him!

We have all heard the story about the man who walks over Niagara Falls on a tightrope as he pushes a wheelbarrow.
No one believed he could do it.
When he got safely to the other side, he asked everyone if they believed him now.
A resounding “yes” filled the air.
“Good! Who wants to get in the wheelbarrow as I push it back to the other side?”
Silence!
No one did!

We say we believe that God is in control…but we live our lives as if we are.
We know that You can push the wheelbarrow, God.
But climb in…as You are pushing?

I know better, God!
I will keep my hand on the wheel…just in case.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him; and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5)

We are people who want to be in control.
That is the hardest thing about coming to Christ…in faith in Him alone.
It is difficult to relinquish the control we think we have.

The bumper sticker that says, “God is my co-pilot”…is wrong!
God is the only pilot…the only driver…the One in control.
Would we really have it any other way?

We do not know better than God!
Even when we think we’re in control, we are striving…hand over hand…getting nowhere.
We expend a lot of energy…with nothing to show for it!

I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)

Everything THROUGH Him!
That is so comforting.
There is such freedom in that truth.

Rest Your hand on His Hand as He drives…as He steers.
Rest in the fact that One greater than you is in control.
He will direct your paths and keep them straight.
He will handle…any turns…perfectly!

His Hand over your hand!