I was dutifully attempting to wash my car. It was an old fashioned wash that called for quarters and elbow grease. I had allowed myself ten minutes at most, five at best to finish the job before needing to arrive at another appointment. To say I was in a hurry would be accurate.
I hopped confidently out of my car and dropped the required quarters in the slot. The wash went off without much of a hitch. True, 'twas a bit of a lick and a promise, but at least it was something. I hung the hoses back up and prepared to leave. That was when I realized I couldn't. I was locked out of my car.
Panic surged through me. There were groceries in there! My parents were out of state at the time. My sister was teaching school. I certainly didn't know any other phone numbers to call. Sure, my door has a lock code, but I'd never bothered to memorize it because I'd never needed it. Faulty logic, yes, but it made sense at the time. Besides, knowing I have a very low affinity for numbers, I'd saved the code on my phone which I always had with me. Except now it, too, was in the car.
There were only two other people at the car wash. One was a grumpy looking woman, my age or a little younger. The other was a middle aged man. He was just getting in his car to leave. I walked over to him.
"Excuse, me sir," I said, "Do you have a phone I could borrow?" I explained the situation. I wasn't sure if I could trust him, but what choice did I have but to throw myself on the mercy of this complete stranger? The situation seemed even more dubious when he produced two phones and deliberated between which number would be most likely to be answered. He smoked steadily as he tried calling a locksmith.
"No, he's busy," he said, "Tell you what, I'll call the sheriff's office." And he did. When no one answered there, he said, "I'll just call the sheriff himself. He's my cousin anyway."
At last he found someone willing to come. In fact, two official cars showed up and after about a ten minute struggle they managed to get my car open. I was so thankful. I thought I might cry from relief.
Yes, I had prayed and God had sent a stranger as an answer to that prayer.
It occurred to me that this story contains some elements of faith. It was scary to boldly ask for help from a complete stranger. I was helpless. He had all the power in the equation.
In our Christian lives the elements of the faith we live by are sometimes scary. We don't understand everything. We may feel helpless. But we are not putting our trust in a complete stranger. At least, we don't think we are. We know God, right?
Yet I wonder sometimes how fully this is true. Do I understand to the depths of my being that God is Love? Do I recognize that He has no desire to harm me? That He wants to give me joy, grant me peace, send rain upon the parched fields of my heart?
Or am I afraid to ask? Sometimes we think we are not good enough. There are days we feel too insignificant, our needs too small, ourselves not worth it.
Yes, there are unknowns in the future. There are those things that look impossible with our human vision. But "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1) To live in faith is to live in the midst of the unknown, not completely without fear, for we are human, but rather to find peace in the unknown, learning we can place those fears in the hands of an all powerful God.
Is it easy to live by faith? To trust through circumstances we don't understand? To grasp His promises of forgiveness and peace? Certainly not. Yet we must remember He is Love. We must be willing to be a little scared, placing our future in His hands with fear and trembling.
Living by faith is a grand adventure that will lead you to unexpected places. It may unlock doors you didn't even know existed. Throw yourself boldly on the mercy of our Heavenly Father. Don't let your fear hold you back. Walk forward with God. He's waiting to take your hand.
I hopped confidently out of my car and dropped the required quarters in the slot. The wash went off without much of a hitch. True, 'twas a bit of a lick and a promise, but at least it was something. I hung the hoses back up and prepared to leave. That was when I realized I couldn't. I was locked out of my car.
Panic surged through me. There were groceries in there! My parents were out of state at the time. My sister was teaching school. I certainly didn't know any other phone numbers to call. Sure, my door has a lock code, but I'd never bothered to memorize it because I'd never needed it. Faulty logic, yes, but it made sense at the time. Besides, knowing I have a very low affinity for numbers, I'd saved the code on my phone which I always had with me. Except now it, too, was in the car.
There were only two other people at the car wash. One was a grumpy looking woman, my age or a little younger. The other was a middle aged man. He was just getting in his car to leave. I walked over to him.
"Excuse, me sir," I said, "Do you have a phone I could borrow?" I explained the situation. I wasn't sure if I could trust him, but what choice did I have but to throw myself on the mercy of this complete stranger? The situation seemed even more dubious when he produced two phones and deliberated between which number would be most likely to be answered. He smoked steadily as he tried calling a locksmith.
"No, he's busy," he said, "Tell you what, I'll call the sheriff's office." And he did. When no one answered there, he said, "I'll just call the sheriff himself. He's my cousin anyway."
At last he found someone willing to come. In fact, two official cars showed up and after about a ten minute struggle they managed to get my car open. I was so thankful. I thought I might cry from relief.
Yes, I had prayed and God had sent a stranger as an answer to that prayer.
It occurred to me that this story contains some elements of faith. It was scary to boldly ask for help from a complete stranger. I was helpless. He had all the power in the equation.
In our Christian lives the elements of the faith we live by are sometimes scary. We don't understand everything. We may feel helpless. But we are not putting our trust in a complete stranger. At least, we don't think we are. We know God, right?
Yet I wonder sometimes how fully this is true. Do I understand to the depths of my being that God is Love? Do I recognize that He has no desire to harm me? That He wants to give me joy, grant me peace, send rain upon the parched fields of my heart?
Or am I afraid to ask? Sometimes we think we are not good enough. There are days we feel too insignificant, our needs too small, ourselves not worth it.
Yes, there are unknowns in the future. There are those things that look impossible with our human vision. But "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1) To live in faith is to live in the midst of the unknown, not completely without fear, for we are human, but rather to find peace in the unknown, learning we can place those fears in the hands of an all powerful God.
Is it easy to live by faith? To trust through circumstances we don't understand? To grasp His promises of forgiveness and peace? Certainly not. Yet we must remember He is Love. We must be willing to be a little scared, placing our future in His hands with fear and trembling.
Living by faith is a grand adventure that will lead you to unexpected places. It may unlock doors you didn't even know existed. Throw yourself boldly on the mercy of our Heavenly Father. Don't let your fear hold you back. Walk forward with God. He's waiting to take your hand.
♥️
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