Scrubbed Clean

I recently took my car to a drive-through carwash for the first time.

I realize that many of you may be surprised by this, but yes, I had never been through one. As a teenager, I was blessed to have a dad who enjoyed washing cars – it was recreational for him. However, now that I am married, he probably would not appreciate me parking in his driveway and asking for a wash.

Anyway, as I anxiously sat inside of my happy little car last week, waiting to go through the stall, I had an interesting thought. Going through a drive-through carwash is kind of like deciding to trust God with a situation in your life.

Stick with me here for a minute. I first had to DECIDE to go to the carwash. Then I had to make a sacrifice – I gave up money for the service, and I also lost something along the way; an employee unscrewed my antennae and handed it to me before I drove through. Then I had to totally relinquish control. I was not expecting that, but a sign with a flashing yellow light told me to put the car in neutral and not touch the brake or steering wheel, allowing the machine to have utter control. I also had to be quiet. The sign instructed me to turn off the radio.

This will not surprise those of you who know me well at all, but once I was inside, I was a little scared. The stall filled with water, and enormous brushes swung at me in all directions. It was loud, and the only light I could see was at the far end of the stall, at the other side. I really didn’t know what to expect before I drove through, and I felt my muscles tighten a little once I was inside.

You can probably see where I am going with this. Deciding to trust God is exactly that – a DECISION. There is also a bit of sacrifice involved – God calls us to give up former ways, which often causes us to lose a false sense of comfort. Like my antennae, God sometimes wants to prune us, which can result in seemingly painful losses.

Once we make the decision to trust Him, we remove ourselves from the driver’s seat of our own lives. We take our feet off the brakes, gas and steering wheel, submitting to Him and following where he leads us. Sometimes, this can be intimidating. Just as I had no idea what to expect inside of the carwash stall, God calls us to trust the Holy Spirit despite our lack of seeing the big picture or knowing all of the outcomes. We also have to be quiet; God tells us to be still and know that He is God and listen.

However, we know that the story doesn’t end there for us, nor was that the end of my experience at the carwash. As my car finished and I could see the sunshine at the end of the stall, I was more than satisfied to see that my car had not only been scrubbed clean of (literally) months of scum and dirt, but also dried without evidence of even water spots. Despite being a 10-year-old vehicle that endures at least 65 miles a day in city traffic for four days a week, it almost looked like a new car.

That’s precisely how we are after we release control of situations in our own lives and allow God to have His way in us. We are scrubbed clean of the things that were preventing us from reflecting His light, clouding our peace. We are renewed; we are rejuvenated. Not only does He care enough to clean us up, but he goes the extra mile and pats us dry, eliminating stains from our past struggles. We may have suffered a few losses along the way – relationships or habits we needed to break – but we are so much better for it.

What an amazing God who wants to teach us things and speak to us at all times – even when we are sitting in a sudsy car on a Saturday afternoon.

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

P.S. Funny picture - the day we bought my car in 2003!