Pilot or Co-Pilot?

     Bumper stickers are interesting.  Some are good, others make you wonder why they are even allowed in public places, and a few don't make any sense.  They can also be misleading.  I've seen a bumper sticker before that says "God is my co-pilot".  At first glance, that seems pretty cool.  We may even say  "Wow.  God is your co-pilot?  Good for you!"  But think for a second about what a co-pilot does.  They're not the primary drivers.  They get to be in control sometimes, but not all the time.  That's not their job.  They're second in command.  So the sticker means that the person has decided to let God be second-in-command in their lives.  It's really not that great to have God as our co-pilot.

      But whether we realize it or not, we all like to be in control.  There's something about the feeling of control that makes us feel good about ourselves.  Even those of us who are laid back still like to have some degree of control.  Have you ever met a control freak?  They insist on having charge of things, because they feel more comfortable that way.  If something unexpected happens, it seems to drive some folks crazy.  I've seen this in my own life, and it was over something silly too.  When a heat wave hit my area, I realized all of a sudden that I would be too hot no matter where I went, and this really bugged me.  You're thinking, "Haven't you heard of air conditioning?"  Yes I have.  But the problem for me was that I could not make the temperature more comfortable, and it made me realize that I was powerless to change this circumstance.  It was beyond my control, and that bothered me.

     The problem with us being in control is that we actually aren't.  We're just trying to be.  When it comes right down to it, we aren't ever in charge.  Nothing is in our control, and this includes whether your computer will work, whether birds will start oinking, and whether or not the temperature will drop to 20 below in the next 30 seconds.  These may seem like extreme examples, but the principle is the same.  We can't guarantee what life will bring, and as a result we can never be in control.  So we live in an illusion of control that must be broken.

     In James 4:13-14 it says "Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (NKJV)  Now this verse may seem a bit scary.  It doesn't seem nice for James to compare us to vapor.  But bear with me, because the truth is we must surrender control to God.  We have to let him be the pilot.  How?  By simply giving up control and asking Him to take charge, and then letting Him actually do it, by obeying His voice and His Word.


     The advantages of letting God be in control are numerous.  Here are a few. 


1. Less unnecessary responsibility. When we realize we're not in charge and surrender the driver's seat to God, we also give up the unneeded pressure of making everything work out.  When we give up control of our lives to God, and really learn to trust Him, He takes the responsibility (that we should never have tried to usurp in the first place) of making life work.  Have you ever felt the pressure of leading a group, organizing an event, or planning a party?  You know that if something goes wrong, it might be your fault, and you'll be blamed regardless.  It's the same with our lives.  We feel pressured to make them work "as they should be", and then blame ourselves when they don't work out as we hope.  We claim responsibility for everything that goes wrong, including things that could never have been our fault (for example, blaming yourself for Joe's stomachache because you took him to an all-you-can-eat buffet and he ate sixteen plates).  That's erased when we give the responsibility to Jesus.


2. A guarantee that it will work out. In Romans 8:28 the Bible says: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (NKJV)  When Jesus is in control, we can breathe easy knowing that no matter what's happening, He will work it out in the end.  By the way, I want to clarify something.  Just because we need to let God control our lives doesn't mean we can't ask Him why He's doing what He's doing.  There's nothing wrong with that.  We just need to make sure we don't take the steering wheel and try to take control again when things don't go our way.

3.  Someone much smarter in charge.  None of us is as smart as God.  Period.  End of story.  Genesis 1:1 says: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (NKJV)  I don't understand how the world works, let alone how to build one just like it.  If that's not proof enough, look at Job 36:22-23.

“Behold, God is exalted by His power;
Who teaches like Him?
Who has assigned Him His way,
Or who has said, ‘You have done wrong’? (NKJV)

God is smarter, and it seems reasonable that the smartest Person in the universe should be allowed to be in control of your life, don't you think?

4.  Better guidance.  Ever steered someone else wrong?  How about yourself?  It doesn't feel so good afterwards, does it?  But Jesus never steers us wrong.  Check out Isaiah 48:17:


"This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go." (NIV 1984)

5.  Saved from making all the tough decisions on our own.  When we ask God what He wants us to do in a given situation, He'll generally have a response ready for us.  It's easier for us to make the right choices when God points them out.

     The advantages to letting the God Who died for us be in charge far outweigh the disadvantages of trying to be in charge ourselves.  We can't control what happens, whether we try or not, but when we trust God with our lives and allow Him to be in control, our lives are improved and so is our relationship with Him.  Try surrendering control to God in every aspect of your life.  It's not always easy, but it's always worth it.  Just ask Him to take the driver's seat, and then determine that you'll follow what He tells you.  The result will be far beyond what you expect.

(NKJV means New King James Version)

(NIV 1984 means New International Version 1984)

Dollar Store

     Hi there.  I thought you might enjoy this video clip based on a song by comedian Tim Hawkins, about the Dollar Store, everyone's favorite store for cheap junk.  I hope you get a laugh out of it.  The Bible says in Proverbs 17:21 that "A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones." So I hope this brightens your day a bit and lifts your spirit. God bless you. Enjoy!

(By the way, if you've ever seen Dodger and Lilly, the Pac-Man at the end probably looks familiar.  If not, I encourage you to check it out.

Please Just ASK. (I don't mean the search engine.)

     We've all heard about or experienced the toddler who asks the unending list of questions.  "Why does the faucet leak?"  "How do cows go 'moo'?"  "When is the sky blue?"  "Why do we need to eat?"  All of these are reasonable questions, more or less, but after a while they begin to get on our last nerves.  We know there's nothing truly wrong with them (even if some are a bit silly) but we can't stand to answer another, sometimes because we don't ourselves know, or care.  So we tell the inquisitive youngster to stop asking questions, or we begin to say the generic "I don't know" to answer them.

     So why is this important?  Because the fact is that adults are basically children with more years in their age, and we continue to do things now that we did however many years ago it was that we were kids, except in a different style.  If you were that questioning little child aforementioned, you probably took the hint and decided you had better not ask any more questions.  But then you began to not ask important questions, such as where the bathroom was or what the phone number was for your daddy's work.  Your parents then wondered why you became so, well, quiet.

     The same thing happens to us today, with only a few differences.  Firstly, the questions we want to ask are completely different, and more important (usually).  Second, we don't want to ask our parents, we want to ask God.  Third, we feel afraid of doing so even though God did not ask us to be quiet, or tell us He didn't know.

     Allow me to explain.  I'll use an imaginary example.  Meet Joe, the average guy.

     Joe is just an ordinary guy who lives his life.  He's a nice guy, and tries to be kind to everyone he meets, even those people with abrasive personalities.  But Joe has recently undergone a tragedy.  As if his circumstance wasn't hard enough, his friends are giving him "advice", you know, the sort that is well meant but hurts worse than if they had just slapped him.  Among that advice is the phrase, "Don't question it too much, since it must be in the will of God".  So now Joe has a bigger problem.  He wonders why he's going through what he's going through, but he doesn't feel like he can ask God about it, or worse, even tell God how he feels.  So Joe gets frustrated at not being able to ask what's going on, and he is further irked because he thinks he has to put on an "I'm okay and everyone else is too" act.   This is ironic, since God can see right through that.  

     Many of us are like Joe.  We wonder why something is the way it is, but we don't think we ought to ask.  We assume that we must have "passive faith".  What is "passive faith"?  Well, "passive faith" is a "faith" where we take whatever comes without asking questions, regardless of whether it's good or not.  Passive faith accepts circumstances regardless of whatever, since "it must be God's will for me. (boo-hoo)"  The problem with that is that passive faith is inactive, and you can't accomplish a whole lot when you're inactive.  If we allow passive faith to cripple us simply because we don't think we should ask questions, we aren't doing God or ourselves a favor.  Instead, we're saddening Him by wasting time and resources, and by not confiding in Him when He explicitly says to draw near to Him. (James 4:8)  We're hurting ourselves by allowing bitterness and spiritual stagnation to take over when we should be seeking God.

     With Joe in mind, let's look at another man.  Allow me to introduce you to David. 

     David was the second king of Israel.  That's a job that usually comes with a fair share of benefits.  David probably had it easy, right?  Wrong.  He had more than his fair share of headaches.  Before becoming king, David was chased around by a paranoid king who was trying to kill him before he (rightfully) took his place on the throne.  Then one of his sons named Amnon was killed by another one of his sons named Absalom as revenge for a highly offensive act Amnon had committed against his half-sister.  Then Absalom led a rebellion and tried to overthrow his dad as king.  Then near the end of his years, another son named Adonijah tried to seize the throne from the son he had left it to, Solomon, before Solomon could take his rightful place.  David didn't have an easy life.  He spent tons of time running from people trying to kill him.  He lost some of his children before he died.  And that wasn't all.  So what did he do?  Did he say, "Oh well.  I guess it's all in God's will so I'll just take it like a rubber chicken and keep my questions to myself?"  No!  In fact David asked God questions about his troubles often, and they were the kinds of questions that I think some of us would be uncomfortable asking.  Take a look at Psalm 13.

Psalm 13 

To the Chief Musician.  A Psalm of David.

"How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?

How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

Having sorrow in my heart daily?

How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;

Enlighten my eyes,

Lest I sleep the sleep of death;

Lest my enemy say,

“I have prevailed against him”;

Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in Your mercy;

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

Because He has dealt bountifully with me."

     Whoa.  Did David really just ask God if he would forget Him forever?  That had to have been rhetorical. How could anyone ask God about forgetting Him?   God doesn't forget anyone!  But David talks to God from the perspective of where He is, and basically asks God "How long do I have to deal with this?  It stinks!"  But what's interesting is that he doesn't stop there.  He says:

"But I have trusted in Your mercy;

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

Because He has dealt bountifully with me."

     He starts the Psalm with a number of questions.  He tells God how sick he is of his circumstances, but he ends on a note of hope and praise.  "God, how long is this going to go on?  Get me out of here!  Don't let my enemy say 'I've got him beat".  Yet I have trusted you, and I will rejoice in your salvation and praise you because you've dealt with me bountifully."  Do you see this?  David asks questions.  He doesn't put on a mask, he doesn't shy away from the issue, he's out there, telling God what's on his mind.  He isn't disrespectful, just emotional, and he remembers to glorify God at the end.

     I think we could learn from David.  Check out what the book of Acts says about him in Chapter 13, verses 21-22. "Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.  After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’"  (NIV 1984, emphasis added)  David is literally the only man in the Bible with this description.  Abraham wasn't called that, Joseph wasn't called that, the apostle Peter wasn't even called that.  Only David was called "a man after God's own heart".  Don't you think his is an example we could follow?  He wasn't afraid to ask questions of God.  Why should we be?

     He wasn't the only man in the Bible who did either.  Others who asked God questions were: Job (yes I spelled that right, and it's pronounced with a long o, not a short one), Moses (who asked God what to do with a nation who complained way too much), even Jesus! (While on the cross, "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (NIV 1984)”

     So there's nothing wrong with asking "why?", or "how?", or "what for?", or any other question of God.  Just keep in mind that in spite of whatever you're going through, God loves you and is looking out for you.  He wants what's best for you, and yes, He is in control of every situation, including yours, no matter what it is.  That's just all the more reason to ask Him about your circumstances.  Trust me, it's a lot better than sitting and stewing, and the answer to your question may come sooner than you expect.  Just be patient.  

Isaiah 40:31

"But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;They shall mount up with wings like eagles,They shall run and not be weary,They shall walk and not faint." (NKJV)

(NKJV means New King James Version)

(NIV 1984 means New International Version 1984)
(Sorry about the weird text pieces)