You Can't Steer a Parked Car

This idea started back when I was in Bible College studying for the ministry. Here I was, 18 years old, thrilled to be able to serve the Lord. I was surrounded by many young adults of like mind and it was great! However, amongst all this excitement and enthusiasm there was an element of doubt and uncertainty. All the doubt seemed to center around one question worded in a variety of ways. “What does God want me to do with my life?” or “What is God calling me to do?” These questions seemed to be on the minds of most of the students I met and talked with.

I probably knew less about any of this than most of my classmates but in my youthful ignorance the answer I kept giving to my fellow students was “What are you doing for the Lord right now?” “Are you obeying the plain simple commands of Scripture that leave little room for doubt and uncertainty?” I would refer to verses like “Love you neighbor as yourself”, “Pray without ceasing”, “Go into all the world and preach” and “Be obedient to them that are your masters”. I was certainly no spiritual giant. I was young and impetuous but had a strong desire to do God’s will. It just made sense to me that if I did God’s will today I would know or at least be in God’s will when tomorrow arrived.

What really bothered me then was that many of these folks who were so focused on the question of what to do tomorrow, did little or nothing today. They were frozen in place by questions and doubts about their future. They had plans but no direction. They had ideas but no action that would make their ideas a reality. Over the years I have spent a lot of time contemplating this pervasive phenomenon and have developed an analogy to explain it. I call it “You can’t steer a parked car.”

From time to time I will be posting my thoughts on this subject using the analogy of taking a road trip. I will look at all the various parts of this trip; planning, roadblocks, detours, rest-stops, getting lost, breaking down, running out of gas, etc. I want to look at the various reasons why some people never seem to get on the roadway of life. If you are one of those folks, it is my prayer that you will be able overcome your own excuses and get the car in gear. If this is not a problem for you then maybe a friend or loved one is afraid to get on the road and you will be able to encourage them. Whatever the case, I hope that you will be blessed and encouraged from these words about the parked car.