Driving to work this morning, the thought of living every part of my life in submission to God’s leading puzzled me. Jesus said He didn’t do anything He didn’t see His Father doing (John 5:19). I wondered how I could do that and glorify God even while I am driving. I considered witnessing to a hitchhiker and asked for Jesus’ help to bring even my driving under His leadership. I know that may sound crazy, but I don’t think we have the right to prohibit Jesus from leading us in any aspect of our lives, no matter how uncomfortable it may be to follow Him. I am not claiming that I do this perfectly, but I do want to bring glory to Him with every part of my life.
Soon after praying, I passed a young woman walking on the highway shoulder in the same direction I was going. I drove by her, thinking that it probably wouldn’t be wise for me as a married thirty-one-year-old man, to pick up a random younger woman off the side of the road. You can probably imagine all the warnings that were going off in my head. I drove a little further and was reminded that walking by faith almost always looks risky. I think it probably did for Abraham when he put Issac on the altar (Genesis 22), or for Rahab when she hid the Israelites (Joshua 2), or even for Noah when he built the ark (Genesis 6-9), but they all lived by faith, and not by sight (Hebrews 11). I want to be like them, even in this very tiny way. The exact balance between using wisdom and walking by faith is not something I feel like I can speak to conclusively, but in this case, I felt like I should give this gal a ride. I turned the car around and went back to see if she needed a ride. She said she was going to the same place I was, so I told her to jump in.
I introduced myself and asked why she was headed to her specific destination. She said it was a long story, and after a brief pause offered to share it. I’ll leave out some of the details for her own privacy, but she told me that she left everything to follow Jesus and that brought her to the side of a highway headed for a place she felt lead to go. She shared how just before I arrived, she had prayed that Jesus would send someone to give her a ride. I almost started crying at that point. We shared a little of our story and some scriptures with each other. I told her about a good friend who lived in the city she was headed to, and how he leads a small group that happened to be meeting that very night. As we drove around town I saw the small group leader and his dad sitting outside a coffee shop. I ran over, briefly shared the story, and connected them with this young gal.
As I am writing this, I’ve just sat down at work, arriving a little later than planned, totally in awe of what just happened. I know somehow God orchestrated this whole ordeal and I am very humbled to see Him work in and through His people, and perhaps be used in a small way to glorify Him even while I am driving.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.” Hebrews 11:1-2
