Lessons from Driving In The Rain

Yesterday, I started the long drive from Austin to Florida, driving my dad's car as part of his moving back there after nearly ten years in Texas.  I left after church and had a hard time driving through torrential downpours, traffic accidents, road work, and other obstacles. 

At one point, the rain near Houston was so bad that I couldn't see beyond a hundred yards or so in front of me, and could barely see the lane markers on the road.  It was a disorienting and tense experience that left me exhausted. 

I was reflecting on that experience this morning, and it occurred to me why so many of us long for certainty in our lives, and why it's so difficult when uncertainty threatens to blur our vision for the way forward in life's journeys.  

When our long-held beliefs, plans for our lives, and our understanding of meaning and purpose are turned upside down, the uncertainty that follows can be as disorienting and exhausting as driving through blinding, driving rain.  

I recall a quote from Richard Rohr, who wrote about the path toward spiritual awakening amid uncertainty: “Enlightenment is not about knowing as much as it is about unknowing…”  

He then goes on to say that letting go of what we thought we knew is often the most important step toward surrendering our control to God and trusting that God has got us.  

In a culture that prizes certainty, achievement, and accumulation, these words feel almost upside down. Yet, at the heart of the spiritual life is not a grasping for more, but a releasing of what we think we already know.

Scripture echoes this paradox again and again. In Proverbs, we are told, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Trust requires a kind of unknowing—a willingness to admit that our perspective is limited. Likewise, the Apostle Paul writes, “Now we see in a mirror, dimly” (1 Corinthians 13:12), reminding us that clarity is not something we possess, but something we grow into as we surrender to God’s mystery.

Even Jesus invites us into this posture of letting go. “Those who want to save their life will lose it,” he says, “and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). The path to awakening is not about constructing a more certain faith, but about loosening our grip—on our assumptions, our need for control, even our images of God.

Spiritual awakening happens when we stop trying to master God and instead allow ourselves to be held by God. It is found not in arriving at perfect answers, but in entering more deeply into the sacred unknown. Like Moses before the burning bush, we are invited to take off our sandals—to recognize that we are standing on holy ground we cannot fully comprehend (Exodus 3:5).

There is a quiet freedom in this kind of surrender. When we release the pressure to have it all figured out, we make space for wonder, for humility, for transformation. We begin to see that God is not a problem to be solved, but a presence to be experienced.

So today, let yourself loosen your grip just a little. Let go of the need to be certain. Trust that God is at work in the mystery, gently awakening you to a deeper, richer life than certainty alone could ever offer.

Prayer
Gracious and mysterious God, teach me to let go of what I think I know. Lead me into deeper trust, deeper wonder, and deeper surrender. Awaken my heart to your presence in all things. Amen.

Reflection Questions

1. What beliefs or assumptions might you need to “unlearn” in order to grow spiritually?

2. Where in your life are you being invited to trust God beyond your own understanding?

3. How might embracing mystery deepen your experience of faith?