A friend drove last weekend to a writing retreat, traveling some 800 miles from Minnesota, through the wilderness known as the Great Midwest, cornfields, cows, and little gas station convenient stores. She packed her coat, snacks, a sleeping bag, if needed. And she asked many to pray for her trip. A travel prayer shield was snapped into place.
But about halfway on her journey, on desolate state route 218 in Missouri, a small light popped up on her dashboard to indicate a low tire. And then within a few miles, that circle of rubber was dead flat. She saw an exit sign a mile ahead. Hope appeared on a green sign bearing a stark image of a gas pump. She thought if she got there, she could just fill the tire with air. But there was no resurrection for this lifeless piece of rubber.
And no sign of life at the gas station either.
Across the road, she pulled into the gravel parking lot for an out-of-season fireworks stand, the only other structure at that exit, a car parked out front. No problem, she would put on the spare tire and be on her way. She emptied the contents of her car to reach the spare and its accompanying tools. But a tiny piece was missing that would remove the lug nuts of the damaged tire. She looked under seats, floor mats, and crevices. But it was not to be found.
She had not planned on this unexpected stop. We never do. We can scope out a trip to the n-th degree, pray through our plans, keep within the speed limit, and be right in the middle of God’s will, and still get a flat tire.
God’s will is not a sweet spot where nothing goes awry. Just because it is not in our expected plans does not mean things are going wrong.
We need not pray away what God may be doing in our lives (or someone else’s) -- or how He is redeeming it.
The devotional Streams in the Desert (originally published in 1925) proclaims: “In the center of the circle of the will of God I stand.”
Things may not be going wrong after all, but tremendously right. We just can’t see that far. We just can’t comprehend. The harrowing pass often holds the most amazing view.
Prayer may not smooth out the hard stuff. But prayer makes us aware, not just what to do, how to navigate the difficulty, how to accept the situation, but when all has come to pass, realizing His Presence with us. And trusting Him in the unexpected and unlikely, whether we understand it or not. We are not alone after all. Trust means walking even closer. We can’t find our way out of a paper bag, but God sees all eternity, even profound implications in what we may consider an irritating situation. In God’s will, there are no interruptions, just divine appointments. Even with potholes, flat tires, and detours.
With the help of the people in that lonely fireworks stand, she reached a local auto mechanic just down the road who was able to mount the spare. And she was on her way again. Three hours later than she anticipated, but perhaps not delayed at all. That prolonged stop had far deeper purposes than she will ever know. Our “delays” always do.
Not my will but Yours. In that prayer, clinging to the center of His will, we can stake our lives. Because no matter what happens, God is still here to take us through. God never promised life wouldn’t be hard, or inconvenient, or beyond our abilities, but “Do not fear. I am with you.” Come to Me.
There was an exit. There was someone at the exit. She was not abandoned on the side of the road in the middle of the night. She arrived safely at her destination, and the next morning a tire shop rectified the problem in less than an hour. God’s mercies arrive in Costco-sized multi-packs.
The thing about God’s will is that it impacts a lot more than us.
Someone chose to go to work that day, not knowing who would come along that road, not knowing if anyone would come in the middle of February, but they made ready anyway, faithful to their little patch of ground. God uses us like that – to come alongside those on our paths.
…and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4. 16
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