Let God Take the Driver’s Seat
By Rick Warren
“Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am.” Matthew 16:24 (The Message)
The key to stress reduction in your life is to let go and let God. So how do you do this? You make Jesus the manager of your life.
The problem is, we usually want to be the manager of our own lives, and so we argue and disagree with God. We think we know what’s best. The reason you’re under a lot of stress is that you’re constantly fighting God in your mind—“I know God says to do this, but I want to do that instead!”
Every morning when you wake up, you have a decision to make: Who’s going to be in charge of your life? Who’s going to be in control—you or God? Who’s going to call the shots—you or God? Every day, moment-by-moment, you are making this decision. When you choose to make yourself the manager of your own life, it causes conflict, confusion, and stress.
Jesus says in Matthew 16:24, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am” (The Message). Here’s what Christians tend to do: When we become believers in Christ, we give him the driver’s seat. But then we promptly hop into the backseat and become backseat drivers. We’re constantly giving him advice like, “No, turn this way. Stop. Wait. Faster! I want to go that way. I want to see that sight.”
Many years ago, Kay and I took dancing lessons. The instructor told us one of the biggest problems couples have is letting the other lead. When they’re both trying to lead, they’re stepping on each other’s feet all the time, and it doesn’t look very pretty.
Your life doesn’t look very pretty when you’re trying to help God lead. Instead, let God be God and make Jesus the manager of your life.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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