September 1, 2023
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He was five years old, and his mommy wasn't feeling well. So she was taking a nap. His little two-year-old sister wanted an ice cream cone, so he did what Mommy would do. Yeah. He picked up the car keys Mommy had left on the kitchen table, took his little sister out to the car, put her in the back seat, turned on the car and somehow started driving (this is a true story). Then Mr. Five-Year-Old pulled out into the main thoroughfare at the corner. Thankfully, a police officer saw the car going by apparently without a driver from what he could see. That got his attention! He pursued the mystery car and managed to get the driver to pull over. Needless to say, there was one shocked policeman when he opened the door and saw a little boy at the wheel. I'd say it's a pretty good thing he stopped him.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Never Meant to Drive."
That little guy was never meant to drive. Just like you and me - our life I mean. The One who gave you your life, that's the one who's supposed to be driving your life. In the words of the Bible, we were "created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). There's a fundamental reason that we continue to wonder what the purpose of our life is and why it doesn't have the meaning we want it to have; a fundamental reason that no relationship, no accomplishment or experience, or even religion has filled the hole in our heart. It's the reason we continue to end up feeling lonely and lost. We insist on driving our life when God is supposed to.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Isaiah 53:6, the Bible says: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way." The result is described a little later in a subsequent chapter: "Your sins have separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2). Here we are, cruising down the road without the One we were made by and made for. That explains so much of our frustration, and our hurt, and even the times we've crashed - all because we are obsessed with doing the driving.
You may be, by nature, a self-reliant person. And that could be good. You've had to figure out things on your own. And maybe you've done a pretty good job of it. Then God comes along and says, "If you want your life to work, if you want to have a relationship with Me, you have to let go of the wheel." You'll go to some of God's meetings, you believe God's beliefs, maybe even contribute to some of God's causes, but you're not about to let go of the wheel.
In the same verses that talk about us going our own way, God goes on to say, "The Lord has laid on Him (that's God's Son, Jesus) the iniquity (or the wrong doing) of us all... the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him." Jesus actually went to a cross to absorb all the guilt of all our wrong doing so we could be forgiven, so we could be reunited with the God who made us; so we could make it into His heaven when we die. If there was something you or I could do to make it with God, there's no way He would have sent His Son to go through what He did when He died for us. It was the only way. It's your only way.
But you have to let go of the wheel. You and I are dying spiritually, and Jesus is the Rescuer who's come to save us. You'll have to abandon trusting in yourself to let go and trust the Man who died and rose again for you. If you insist on hanging onto the wheel of your life, you will ultimately drive it over the cliff of an eternity away from God. And if you've got a family or people who follow you, you may even take others with you.
Today, the God who made you, the God who gave His Son for you, is saying to you, "Let go of the wheel so I can take your life where I meant for it to go." The release of that wheel will result in the greatest peace you've ever experienced, because the One who was supposed to drive will finally be driving.
Man, I would love for you to begin this life-changing relationship with Him. If you want that, go to our website and find there the information that will help you get this settled. It's ANewStory.com.
The greatest tragedy in life would be if you go into eternity with your hands still stubbornly hanging onto the wheel. Because only Jesus can drive you where you want to end up.