What a pleasure to hear from Erica Botha this week! Be sure to stop by the contributors page to learn more about her.
As a little girl, I loved the automatic car wash. It was so much fun to ride through the car wash while soap was sprayed on and some rollers moved over and around our car. I hadn’t been to an automatic car wash in a very long time, but the other day I decided to head in for a free car wash.
As I got closer I saw a sign that said to put the car in neutral, take my hands off the wheel and my feet off the pedals. What??? Once the attendant motioned me to pull forward, I had to obey the signs. I was nervous! What if I didn’t get the car in the right spot and then they wanted me to give up total control! My mind was not calm, and I was not excited.
The car was positioned correctly because the next thing I knew the conveyer was pulling the car along. My van was immediately surrounded by suds. The car had been sprayed in a thick coating of bubbles. I couldn’t see anything. I think I even forgot to breathe as I listened to the sounds of the car wash around me.
Things were coming at my car from all directions and the sounds were not reassuring. The brushes started rolling over the car, but I only had occasional glimpses of them through the bubbles. There was no clear picture. At one point I reached for the steering wheel. Letting go of control isn’t so easy. I couldn’t see what was around me and from what direction things would be coming.
I thought about two stories from the Bible. The first was Jonah when he was in the ship and the storm was raging around the ship. Jonah had chosen not to obey God to go to Ninevah and tell the people to repent. The next story that came to mind was when Jesus was asleep in the ship and the wind and waves were tossing the boat. Jesus slept peacefully, while his disciples were worried. (Matthew 8:23-27)
We often want control of our lives and when we can’t see what is going on or what is coming next we begin to worry or doubt. Jonah put himself in a situation where God had to get his attention and humble him. The disciples in the midst of the storm were amazed to see Jesus’ verbal rebuke of the storm calm the sea. Before calming the storm Jesus said, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?”
That day in the car wash I had to trust that the attendant would direct me onto the right path for my car. I had to trust that the conveyer belt would take me safely through the car wash. I had to trust that all of the parts of the car wash making sounds around my car were accomplishing the task of cleaning my car even though they didn’t sound good.
Our lives are like that. Sometimes God needs to get our attention. At other times we need to have faith and be reminded of the truths in His Word. We have to trust that when we are listening to God, He is directing our paths just as he promises in Proverbs 3:5-6. We have to trust that even when we can’t see him or only barely get glances of his presence, that he is still with us just as he says in Matthew 28:20. We also have to trust that when going through a refining process we will come out as gold (Job 23:10).
None of this is easy. Like my time in the car wash, I still want to put my hands on the wheel. I want to do things my way or trust in what is immediately in front of me. When my car came out of the car wash it was shinier than when it went in. Each time we face a refining process we have the opportunity to come out shinier than before.
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