by Rhonda Rhea @RhondaRhea

I read the other day that one of the best anti-theft systems for a car is—(Are you ready for this?)—a manual transmission. So many gears, so few who know how best to grind them.

I remember well sitting in the driver’s seat of my brother’s car, looking at the floorboard. Three pedals. Then looking at me. Two feet. How did the auto manufacturers miss this serious design flaw? Which should I do: ignore a pedal or grow a foot?

I learned the shifting part. In theory. First gear, second gear, third gear. The clutch though. I understood it in theory too, but in application it was all lurch…lurch…grind…engine-croak. And don’t even get me started on braking. Don’t get me started and don’t get me smoothly stopping either.

My brother and I were in our late teens. He took me out on an old dirt road to teach me how to drive his manual-shift monstrosity. The seats didn’t adjust to fit my five-foot-zero-inch body. His car was built more for a six-footer. So basically, I was a foot short…and a foot short.

As I lurched down the road, I was wide-eye-focused on those pedals. I was the phantom of my own opera, and I was going to play those organ-esque foot pedals if it killed us. Every little bit, my brother would sneak two fingers over to the steering wheel and pull us back onto our side of the road. Seriously, he should’ve been shrieking in scary-movie-terror. Courageous guy. But how was I supposed to watch the road, play all those foot pedals, and still decide the timing of the shifting? Wait for it…wait for it…now. Grind. Grind. Grind.

When it comes to making decisions, timing is everything. I can’t stress enough how vital it is to wait on God for His timing and for His direction. David drives it home when he prays, “Make your ways known to me, Lord; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; I wait for you all day long” (Psalm 25:4-5 CSB).

Letting emotion drive us forward or getting ahead of God results in all kinds of awkward lurching. Waiting is powerful. And though it sounds passive, it’s really not. Even when we’re waiting—even if a shift is coming—we still move, doing those things we already know to do. We’re never called to just sit, staring down at our feet. We’re to serve in the space the Lord’s given us until He leads us to whatever is next.

Actively waiting involves seeking His direction by learning the truths in His Word, and by praying for His guidance. It includes actively listening. As we take that active role in seeking His will and lean into the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives, we find everything we need in the wait. Even strength and a heart of courage. “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14 CSB).

So as you wait, trust that your Designer has never made a mistake. Wait with faith. He will lead you. Never mind the grind. Honest and truly, in every way, our God comes through in every clutch.

Rhonda Rhea is an award-winning humor columnist for great magazines such as HomeLife, Leading Hearts, The Pathway, and many more. She is the author of 19 books, including the popular romantic comedies co-authored with her daughter Kaley Rhea, Off-Script & Over-Caffeinated and Turtles in the Road. Rhonda and Kaley have also teamed up with Bridges TV host Monica Schmelter for the Messy to Meaningful books and TV projects. Along with Beth Duewel, Rhonda writes the Fix Her Upper series, and she also co-authored Unruffled: Thriving in Chaos with Edie Melson. She speaks at conferences and events from coast to coast, serves on many boards and committees, and stays busy as a publishing consultant. Rhonda says you can find her living near St. Louis drinking too much coffee and snort-laughing with her pastor/husband, five grown children, and a growing collection of the most exceptional grandbabies.