Mark 8:34 (MSG) Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how.

Spoken straight from God’s mouth, the above passage pierces.

Isa 55:11 (MSG) So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

Reasons why I grab the steering wheel:
I think I know better than God.
I think I’m in the wrong location.
I think God is getting sleepy.
Backseat driving wasn’t enough.
I thought God must not have heard my directions.

Fails.

The Great I AM who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present is in the driver’s seat and I who am exactly the opposite think that I can do a better job.

Here are truths that bust the lies:

I think I know better than God. –
No one knows better than God.
Psalm 19:7-9 MSG
The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes. God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree.

Isa 31:2
Still, he must be reckoned with, a most wise God who knows what he’s doing. He can call down catastrophe. He’s a God who does what he says.

I think I’m in the wrong location.
1Cor 7:17 And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there.

I thought God is getting sleepy. –
Psalm 121: 3-4 MSG He won’t let you stumble, your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel’s Guardian will never doze or sleep.

Backseat driving wasn’t enough. –
James 4:4-6 MSG You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.”

I thought God must not have heard my directions. –
Rev 1:8 MSG
The Master declares, “I’m A to Z. I’m The God Who Is, The God Who Was, and The God About to Arrive. I’m the Sovereign-Strong.”

Col 3:23 MSG Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ.

I belonged to the self-driving culture and I sometimes go back to my default mindset. –
Rom 12:2 MSG Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.

This one is a sharp arrow:
Don’t run from suffering; embrace it.

Sometimes suffering is what sends me into panic which, when not in synch with the Holy Spirit assured of God’s will, makes me wrongly take control of the steering wheel that leads to the fail.

Follow me and I’ll show you how.
Jesus, the faithful, compassionate, all-knowing guide is readily available to help us. As long as we subject ourselves to His driving, we will be okay.