Who's Driving?

Some of you may have read the poem that begins, “A basketball in my hands is worth about $19. A basketball in Michael Jordan's hands is worth about $33 million. It depends on whose hands it's in.” The rest of the poem goes on to talk about other sports stars who add value to ordinary things because they know how to use them. The poem then turns to a more serious subject. The last few lines read, “Nails in my hands might produce a bird house. Nails in Christ Jesus' hands will produce salvation for the entire world.
It depends on whose hands they're in.”

Many people pride themselves on how “in control” they are of their lives. They brag about their accomplishments, who they know, how much money they make, and how well their children turned out. Some of them even call themselves, “self-made.”

However, Christians are called to do the exact opposite of this. We are called to turn our entire lives over to Christ. We are to empty ourselves of our own desires, wants, and needs, and completely trust God with everything we have. After all, He created us, and knows far better than we, how our lives should be lived and what we are capable of in His kingdom.

I’m reminded of a news story from several years ago, in Germany. Tuncer Yilmaz was a cab driver in Berlin. One day, Yilmaz picked up a fare who was in a huge hurry. He had just flown in from Switzerland and was on a tight schedule to meet a dog breeder in the town of Gesuelz. He was going there to buy a puppy from the breeder and needed to get back home quickly.

The passenger decided that Yilmaz was not driving fast enough on the way back to the airport and asked if he could drive. The cabbie allowed him to, because he had recognized the young man. The fare he had picked up was Michael Schumacher, who is arguably the F1 series winningest race car driver.

When Schumacher took the wheel of the cab, the ride was a completely different experience. Yilmaz was quoted as saying, "It was sheer lunacy. He took the curves with full speed, but you couldn't even notice it. He just knows how to do it." He also said that he would never forget the ride.

Michael Schumacher knew how to handle the car. He made a living driving and pushed the car to its limits. He made the cab do things that Yilmaz never dreamed it would do. It depends on whose hands it’s in.

Physicians tell us that we only use from .01% to 10% of our brain. However, if we placed it in God’s hands, what could the one who created it do with it? We have no idea what we are capable of, and how effective we can be for God’s work on earth, until we give Him all that we have.

If we will give Him our life, our marriage, our job, our children, our will, our future and our past, He will take it and make it into more than we have ever dreamed we could do or be. Our lives, in our hands, is simply a mess. In God’s hands, it is a powerful tool for Him. Give Him your all today. You will never forget the ride!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV)