Life Can Be Tough

For me a vehicle is like a comfortable pair of shoes or a just starting to fad pair of jeans. The driver’s seat is set perfect and is molded to my shape. The height of the ride and its reactions to the road are predictable. After one drives a vehicle a couple of hundred thousand miles it seems you know it better than some of your best friends. But, like shoes and jeans things wear out and need replacing over time. A few years back the overdrive became intermittent and a part in the transmission was replaced. The interior of the transmission looked good and convenience prompted the replacement of the torque convertor as long as the transmission was out of the vehicle. To make a long story short, the replacement torque convertor was noisy from day one. Not something easy to replace again, so I resigned to living with it. A couple of years have passed and the noise has worsened. Fluid changes and medicine seemed to help but had me concerned. Well, this past Monday the old girl let me down. Sitting in the middle of a super busy intersection at a traffic light that just turned green, I stepped on the gas and – nothing! When one drives an older vehicle, jumper cables, a tow strap and a box of tools are a must-have at all times. Of course I don’t like using them on my own equipment; they’re mostly for helping others out of predicaments I now find myself in. Luckily, I got a guy to drag me off the road and by the time I checked the fluids and such, which were clear, clean and odorless by the way so not the transmission, it went into gear again. To make another story short, I tried to make it home – made one mile and no drive again. It has to be the torque convertor losing its grip when it gets heated up. I called a friend and we got it towed to the house. I tell myself things could have been worse. I literally praise God I broke down in suburbia and it didn’t happen in the middle of the big city. I thanked God for a good brother-in-Christ who forfeited his lunch date with his wife to come to my rescue without question. I thanked God for a good “Plan B” - my wife’s car which rarely gets used. I thank God I have the money to repair it and trustworthy mechanics to fix it. Monday was a good day because God was with me and blessed me.

[John 16:33] Jesus never promised us that everything would be perfect here on earth. He recognized that we would encounter trouble. But his instructions were to be of good cheer not to let it get us down. As we encounter difficulties in life, it will help us to remember the big picture; God is our Father and has a wonderful eternal plan for us. We are his children and he loves us. We are supposed to be learning to trust God to obey him. As we do, every problem we ever face is an opportunity to walk in faith and please God. Every problem is an opportunity to overcome with God’s help. How can we expect to receive the blessings promised to the victorious if we never have anything to overcome? What is the answer when we seem overwhelmed with trouble? Look to Jesus. He has already won the victory. He has overcome and defeated the world. In him is victory. How can we look to Jesus? It is mostly a matter of focus; what we chose to think on. What God says in His Word will set us free and give us peace. What our circumstances say is not the final word. So, go to God’s Word. Cling to the promises. Speak them. Sing them. Shout them. Rejoice over them. And thank God for them. Also, we need to develop a closer relationship with the Lord. That is His desire and it should be ours. All relationships are based on communication, so we must talk to the Lord to deepen our relationship with him. Develop a habit of talking to Him about everything. We can speak freely with him – after all, he knows what we’re thinking anyway, always.