God is Not a Chauffeur
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!”
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Before I get into this week’s Friday Post, I want remind us what the definition of a chauffeur is. According to Google the definition is: // [“drive (a car or a passenger in a car), typically as part of one's job.”]
I have to admit, it sure is nice to get into a hired with polished leather seats and a shiny exterior, and be driven around. A couple of years ago, when I was living in Germany, a German national TV station asked me to travel to Cologne to go on live TV for their morning show and talk about the 2016 US presidential election. When I arrived at the airport, a chauffeur was there to greet me. The driver was standing there with a paper that read “Ms. Portee,” She ushered me into a shiny polished Mercedes with leather seats, and drove me to my hotel. My my my, I felt like a queen.
Sometimes, I think we Christians expect a hired car with polished leather seats and a shiny exterior, and to be driven around, where God is the chauffeur and He drops us off from blessing to blessing. But, friends, He doesn’t work like that. Life is about faith, work, the right motive, effort, tenacity, humility, and patience. As Henry Ford said, “whether you think you can, or you think you can’t- you’re right.” We often want God to do the work, to drive us around with little to no faith, work, effort, tenacity, humility or patience. But, God is not a chauffeur.
Taking Ford’s quote, if we just sit there thinking we can, and turn it into action- we will. Or, if we sit there thinking we can’t, and don’t turn anything into action, we won’t. It’s not God’s job to open the back seat of a car, we get in and relax in the back and He drive from blessing to blessing. No friends, turning a vision into reality takes faith and work.
I reminded of the verse from Exodus above, when God led the Israelites out of the Red Sea and they saw Pharaoh chasing them. They turned and cried to God, thinking that they were in peril. They began to doubt Moses and God. But God basically said to Moses, “why are they talking to me- MOVE- and cross the Red Sea that I have opened.” Haha.
Yes, it’s true that God wants us to- as Oprah says, “to live out the truest and highest expression of ourselves.” So, what does that mean? When God gives us vision, and let’s not forget that vision comes from Him. He wants us to multiply it. He wants us to multiply the vision along with the gifts and talents He has given us. So, if you have a vision from God to start a business, be a journalist, be a doctor, be a singer, dancer- or run for political office- GO GET IT, GO CHASE IT- MOVE. Yes, commit it to prayer but there comes a time when you have to stop talking to God and just MOVE! When you began going after that vision- if God has graced you to do that thing, then He will do the impossible tasks to make sure that vision is fruitful. He will bring connections, opportunities, and capital.
When we do our part, then God will do His part. He knows our limitations but He needs to see faith, work, the right motive, effort, tenacity, humility, and patience. When we start seeking to multiply the vision, He will bring the growth, the success. And let us not forget that that growth is for HIS glory, for the better of our communities, and for our good.
So friends, if you have vision for your life, to live your life in service to others, and to multiply what God has given you, remember that He is not a chauffeur. It will take faith, work, the right motive, effort, tenacity, humility, and patience.
Happy Friday!