In
a nutshell, Jesus Take The Wheel is about a young lady who is driving a long way to her parent's
house. She has her infant child in the back seat. She is driving 'way
too fast', and she has 'a lot on her mind' and is not paying attention
to the road. Then she hits a patch of black ice and looses control of
the vehicle.
At
this point she sees both her life and her babies' life flash before her
eyes and she cries out, "Jesus take the wheel." Fortunately, the story
- the song - has a happy ending. Jesus does take the wheel. She
arrives safely at the side of the road and her baby in the back seat was
not even awakened from her sleep.
But
I started to think, what if Jesus had not taken the wheel? What if he
let her car go smashing into another car or a guardrail? What if Jesus
let her become paralyzed? What if her baby had been killed? What if,
because she was 'going way to fast' and not paying attention to her
driving, she was charged with vehicular homicide or manslaughter and
sent to prison for many years? What if because of her actions none of
her family wanted to have anything to do with her anymore? What if
Jesus had not taken the Wheel?
Several years back a similar thing happened to a young lady in my town. She
was apparently distracted while driving her car, and ran into another
car, which in turn slammed into and killed a small child.
Unfortunately for this young lady, and for the toddler and the
toddlers' family, she never had time to ask Jesus to take the Wheel. Or
if she did, Jesus said 'No!'
We
will never know this side of the grave, why Jesus chooses to take the
wheel in one instance, and then stands back, seemingly with arms folded,
in the next. It's almost like, if Jesus likes you, he will keep you
from suffering, and if he doesn't like you, well, then you're on your
own.
In
the book of Job we are given a very rare peek into what goes on in the
spiritual realm. We are told about Job, a righteous man that is living a
life pleasing to God. And then the Devil appears before God in heaven
and tells God that Job is only living a righteous life because God has
blessed him with much family and material possessions.
We
are then told that God gives the devil permission to inflict great
suffering upon Job, to see whether or not is only serving God for
personal gain. And so the devil inflicts tragedy upon tragedy upon
tragedy on Job. And chapter one ends with Job saying these words:
"The
Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the
Lord. And the Bible says, In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God
foolishly." (Job 1:21,22).
God
has a reason for allowing bad things to happen to people. For one
person it may be punishment or discipline for unrepentant sin. The Bible
says, "Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap." -Galatians 6:7
For
another person God may be preparing them so they will be able to
comfort others who are suffering. Again, the Bible tells us, "Blessed
be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies,
and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation,
that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble." It's not
about you and it's not about me. There is a whole world of hurting
people out there and God needs comforters.
I still like Carrie Underwood's song, Jesus Take The Wheel.
And if you love our Lord Jesus and put your trust in him to save you,
then he has a firm hold on the wheel of your life. And if he chooses to
steer you through some rough roads, just believe that he knows what he
is doing. And we have his promise that "All things work together for
good to them that love God." (Romans 8:28)
Recommended reading:
Footprints in the Sand, by Mary Stevenson
Note: Although Carrie Underwood's song Before He Cheats might not be appropriate to be sung in a church service, it does have a Biblical message nonetheless! (Hebrews 13:4)
Recommended reading:
Footprints in the Sand, by Mary Stevenson
Note: Although Carrie Underwood's song Before He Cheats might not be appropriate to be sung in a church service, it does have a Biblical message nonetheless! (Hebrews 13:4)
