I brought my car in for an oil change. Any time I go in for a $25 oil change, I end up with a list of $500 or so of necessary repairs. Yesterday was no different. I left my cell phone number with the mechanic at SpeeDee Oil Change and went on a long walk.
Predictably, the mechanic called about a half hour later and told me the bad news. My rear brake pads were gone, and the brakes were grinding metal on metal. The bill would be almost $500 for the repair and new brake parts. That included the $25 oil change, of course.
Sigh.
I told him to go ahead. The car has over 200,000 miles on it. Things do wear out over all those years and all those miles. (Just look at my body...)
I walked on, enjoying the beautiful day and the warm, summery air. It's only money. Money that we don't really have to spare, but the good news is, we won't need money in heaven! The phone rang again.
"Hi!" the mechanic said, "I have some better news for you. When I removed the wheel, I see that whoever did your back brakes last did not put them on correctly. The pads are just shifted but they are fine. It will take me some time to replace some of the parts that have rusted and been damaged, but the total will only be $100 for the brakes."
How many times have you ever heard a car mechanic call and tell you the bill will be one fifth of his earlier estimate? And how blessed was I that incorrectly installed brake pads had not resulted in some catastrophe, particularly since I had just completed a 2,500 mile car trip?
Praise God. Here was something about which I had not had the slightest inkling of a problem or an issue, and God had protected me. His message to me was loud and clear -- Trust me. I have your back...and your brakes.
On my long walk, I was thinking of the recent presidential debate and how concerned I am about either candidate running our country. I think we are sunk no matter which one is in charge, though I have my personal beliefs about who will ruin us faster. However, I think God was telling me with the whole car episode, Trust me. Do not fret. I've got this.
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Matthew 6:25
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you
will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put
on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
Mark 5:36
But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”
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