“If we surrender to God's will and freely give our lives in love for others, the Father's grace will sustain us in every trial and enable us to bear abundant fruit for the salvation of our brothers and sisters.”
– Pope Leo XIV
I have always been a used-car kind of guy — no bells, few whistles. Just give me something that will get me to my destination in one piece. In fact, for a small fee you can still watch a DVD in our family car because it’s old enough to be from a time when having a DVD player in your car was cool. With a two-day, ten-hour drive ahead of me for work and a used car showing signs of fatigue, I decided I would rent a vehicle for the trip. When I hopped into my complimentary upgrade, the bells and whistles weren’t just present — they were overwhelming.
About two hours into my drive, the car alerted me to the option of “hands-free cruise control.” I’d used cruise control before, but hands-free? With no one else around me on the turnpike, I decided to give it a go — and boy, did it go. As we approached the first slight curve in the road, I aggressively grabbed the wheel and the wheel fought back. Out of nervousness, I slammed on the brakes.
After an hour or so of anxious experimentation, before I knew it, the car was driving itself. The car sensed other vehicles merging into the lane, and it perfectly anticipated each road bend. For the first time in my life, I enjoyed my Wendy’s takeout without worrying that dipping my nuggets into BBQ sauce might cause an accident. I appreciated the Pennsylvania countryside in a way I hadn’t before.
Right around the same time that I began to wonder if I should prioritize a higher car payment for a few more bells and whistles, I remembered I was actually in the driver’s seat. As if the car also sensed that I had mentally checked out, the bells started ringing and the whistles started blowing with alarms to “put your hands back on the wheel” and “pay attention.”
Startled, I grabbed the wheel and looked for the impending danger. There was none. Switching back into manual mode, I realized how unconfident I’d become behind the wheel, and I couldn’t help but wonder two things: firstly, how the heck did the car know I wasn’t paying attention? Secondly, where else in my life, leadership, and discipleship am I driving in a “hands-off” way rather than a “hands-free” way? As a leader, when I try to delegate and empower others, what does it mean to step back rather than step out? Am I mentally and emotionally still invested once I’m not the one actively making something happen? I am often challenged to “let God take the wheel” in various aspects of my life. However, how often do I forget that surrendering to the Lord and His will is anything but passive?
For the rest of the trip, my hands weren’t always steering the wheel, but both the car and I preferred when my hands were on it. As we travel into this new week, let’s look for opportunities to put our trust in others and the Lord and realize that it takes a hands-on faith to do so.
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