I have the best intentions;
I long to do all that pleases God
And yet I fail to do what I mean
And do what I mean not to do.
refrain
It’s time to jump into the back seat and let God drive,
It’s time to jump into the back seat and let God drive,
It’s time to jump into the back seat and let God drive,
For He alone knows where I’m really going.
If backed into a corner,
I may admit that I have done wrong,
And yet I tell God what He should do
To make things work out right for me.
(refrain)
It’s hard to want what God wants;
Even Christ Himself didn’t like to suffer,
But He cried, “Not my will, but Yours.”
Lord, help me to pray that prayer, too.
(refrain)
About this Song:
If these words remind you of several vastly different Scripture passages, you’re on the same page I am.
In Romans 7:19-20, the apostle Paul says, “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” That’s from the NIV translation.
Here’s the same thing from the Easy-to-Read translation: “I don’t do the good that I want to do. I do the evil that I don’t want to do. So if I do what I don’t want to do, then I am not really the one doing it. It is the sin living in me that does it.”
No matter which translation you prefer, Christians can relate too easily to what Paul is saying. Just because we’re saved doesn’t mean we’ve lost our sinful nature. We truly don’t want to sin, yet we still do. We won’t get rid of that sinful nature until we die.
But with God’s help, we can keep it under control–under better control, that is. The closer our walk with Him–the more willing we are to put Him in the driver’s seat of our lives–the more we’re able to do the good we want to do and avoid doing the bad we don’t want to do.
The other passage referred to here is Matthew 26:39 & 42. Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion. He would have much preferred to avoid the physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering he faced the next day. He said, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” (That is, may I be spared from the coming agony?)
In verse 42, He prayed a second time. “My father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it. . .”
Ah, but I’ve purposely omitted the most important words in both verses: “Yet not as I will, but as You will” in verse 39 and “May Your will be done” in verse 42.
As today’s lyrics suggest, Jesus was acknowledging that He wanted God the Father to be in the driver’s seat–regardless of Jesus’s personal feelings.
Because Jesus was both God and man, He was born with a sin nature–just like you and me. But He did what the apostle Paul was never able to do: He stayed in such close contact with God the Father that He never let his sin nature take control. Not once. Jesus never sinned.
You and I will never stop sinning. But the closer we get to God–the more we put Him in charge of our lives–the less sinning we’ll do.
If you’re not a Christian, you probably still have problems making yourself do what’s right sometimes and doing what you know is wrong at other times. You’d be amazed how God’s presence in your life can affect your intentions and your ability to carry through with them.
Please leave a comment if this song has spoken to you in any way…or my comments about it.
Free lead sheets (lyrics, tune, and chords) are available for many of my songs. Click on the Lead Sheets tab at the top of this page to see whether one is available for this song.
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Best regards,
Roger
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