Control

 

In 2018 I flew to Paris, rented a car, and drove to the Gold Coast on the Mediterranean Sea to present a creation lecture to Eglise Baptiste du Centre in Perpignan.  I had rented a car from Auto Europe in Camden, Maine and paid $84 for the week.  A good deal, or so I thought.  But when I arrived at the car rental desk at Charles de Gaul Airport, the attendant scoffed at my voucher and told me that the car in my contract was too small to serve my needs.  For just $185 I could upgrade to a nicer car with GPS and more room.  So I agreed.  I didn’t realize that it was $185 on top of the $84.  Oh well, live and learn.  It had a built-in navigation screen, but I couldn’t figure out how to change it from French to English.  The book in the glove box explained everything, but it was also in French.  But by the end of the week, I was an expert at entering everything into the navigation … in French.  On the A-1 highway I discovered that the car had Forward Collision Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Warning, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, and Lane Departure Control.  Basically, the car was self-driving.  Once I set the cruise, I could let go of the steering wheel and take my foot off the accelerator, and just let the car drive me.  The problem was, I just couldn’t trust it.  I had to keep watching the speed and watching the mirror for cars behind me.  I kept nervously holding my hands out ready to grab the steering wheel.  I just couldn’t trust the technology.  Hey, that’s the way I am with the Blessed Holy Spirit controlling my life.  Jesus said in John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth … and he will shew you things to come.”  I know that He can control my life, and I know that He will do it if I let Him.  But I just keep taking back the control of my life.  Just like trusting the Lane Departure Control, I must trust the Holy Spirit that He will do what Jesus said He will do.  I just need to trust.  And the Holy Spirit is much more trustworthy than any car manufacturing company.  Really.