You are here: Home › Whats New › 2009 › 03 › 20 › Jesus Take The Wheel

Jesus, take the wheel

20th March 2009

So, I'm not a huge fan of country music. When I saw that American Idol this week had a country music theme I almost hit delete straight away.

Almost.

I'm glad I didn't! Or I would have missed out on hearing a beautiful song called "Jesus, take the wheel" and, more importantly, hearing from Jesus himself! (By the way, I just love it that God speaks to me in all sorts of places - I don't have to be in church or reading the bible or praying to hear from God!)

Being a country music song, the focus was telling a story. But this was an unfinished story. It starts with a girl driving home to her parents with her bubba in the backseat. Then she hits some ice on the road and loses control of the car. Her instant reaction was to cry out in prayer for Jesus to take the wheel of the car and give her a second chance on life. The reason I said it's an unfinished story is because the song didn't go on to tell us if she lived.

Giving Jesus control of the steering wheel of our lives is not always easy. From toddlerhood we start to assert our independence: "I do it!" and this desire for control and autonomy doesn't disappear as we grow. Just think how excited we feel when we pass our driving test and know that we are officially allowed to take control of that steering wheel. The freedom in not having to ask family or friends for lifts everywhere feels fantastic. (Check out all the ‘f's in that sentence!) If you're yet to get your licence, many of you would be eagerly looking forward to that day.

Many people struggle with giving Jesus control, then taking it back, giving it to Jesus, then taking it back and so on. It can be a vicious cycle.

In the song, it's a shame that it's only out of desperation-when there's no other hope-that the girl cried out to Jesus. But many of us are like that. It's only when we're at the end of our rope that we resort to Jesus.

Last weekend we had an awesome time in the presence of God at Impact. Over the weekend, many people asked Jesus to take control of the steering wheel of their lives. For some it was the first time they surrendered to Jesus. For others it was the next, deeper step in their commitment. Some might have been in complete desperation not even completely certain that Jesus could meet their needs. For some, their cars might have been just about to crash and Jesus was their only hope.

But I take comfort in one of my favourite verses from the Bible. Romans 10:13 tells us that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." To put this into American Idol Country Music Week Speak, I'd say, "Everyone who cries out for Jesus to take the wheel will be saved."

What hit me this morning during the song is that I need to ask Jesus every morning to take the wheel. If I don't consciously hand over control of my life to Jesus each day, then I'm probably going to be taking back control myself. I might think I'm a pretty good driver but Jesus is the ultimate driver. I'd rather have Jesus in the driver's seat.

Sandy