Car Problems
The Tankersley family seems to be cursed with car troubles. to the extent a man wanted to write a book about our many difficulties. Discovering my car has another problem is like waking up to a shiny, new pimple on my face. It is common enough to not be surprising, but I wish I could just make it go away for good.
Recently, a metaphorical pimple manifested in a most inconvenient way.
Locked Door
My car door lock had been finicky. It was refusing to accept my key as the proper key. I always managed to unlock the car, but eventually I took it into a Honda dealer. They fixed it...for a week. But it once again began to be finicky.
I decided to stop locking my front car door. I would every other door, just not the front. My car helped me accomplish this plan in that the automatic lock would lock all but the front door.
Or so I thought...
Pulling up to my office, I get out of the car and close the door. Remembering I need to lock all but the front door, I open the door again, hit the lock button, and let gravity close the door for me.
As it shuts, I suddenly realize that my car has betrayed me; it locked all 4 doors! I attempt to stick my fingers in the door before gravity finishes the dirty deed, but I am left only with a jammed finger and the bitter taste of defeat.
I decide to deal with it later, but as I walk towards my office, I realize my phone is still in the car. Not sure how long I have until phone withdrawal kicks in, I turn around and spend the next fifteen minutes, key in the door, twisting, jamming, and begging. Finally, I head into my office with no success.
My wife is kind enough to pick me up at the end of the day. We try her key to no avail. I plan to try again the next day. If I cannot get the key into the door, I will call a person to pop the lock open for me and then bring the car back to the dealership.
Pop-A-Lock
At lunch the next day, I head to my car in prayer. "Father, it would be wonderful if You opened this door for me. I know You can. It would save me $50 and the headache of having people come out to open it. So why not? This is my attempt, and then I will call roadside service. I trust Your plan and will."
Expecting a miracle, I continue jiggling the key, again to no avail. Dejected, I call the Pop-A-Lock guy. He comes and pops the lock open in roughly 30 seconds, completely shaking my confidence that my locked car is actually safe. I then open the door...and the car enters panic mode.
The security alarm honks constantly if the car is not unlocked properly, which I had no way to do! The horn dies down after about 5 minutes, but reopening a door or starting the ignition causes it to flare up all over again. We set the alarm off three times trying to solve the problem. I am now the favorite person of all the businesses in the area.
The Pop-A-Lock man gives up, but he tells me he will wave the $45 fee of opening the door and send a new guy out to replace my entire lock! Thanking him, I turn to go inside...until I once again realize my phone is still in the car. I prepare myself for the hatred of all around me, open the door, grab my phone, and walk away as my car repeatedly cries out its panicked alarm.
The Repair
A few hours later, a man comes to repair the door. As he is repairing the door, we chat for about an hour. In that time, I get to tell him about following Jesus, and I invite him to my church!
Once he fixes the lock, I ask about getting a remote key for keyless entry. I learn I can at no extra cost! For $130, a man comes to pop my lock, then another comes to replace my lock, and finally they make a third trip to give me a remote entry key! A dealership would price that around $300. If God had answered my request to have the door opened, I would have paid way more money, I would have been without a car for a few days, and I wouldn't have gotten to share the gospel. I'm glad God followed His plan rather than answering my request in the way I asked.
Conclusion
In Philippians, Paul tells us to be anxious for nothing, but instead make our requests to God, and His peace that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts. Sometimes we see God work things out in an awesome way. Sometimes we are left wondering why God didn't answer our request the way we expected Him to answer.
Paul doesn't tell us God will answer how we want. Paul simply explains we can have peace knowing that God has heard our request and will work all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Obediently trusting Him with our requests will give us peace and lead us closer to Jesus, and Jesus is worth more than time, money, and any other created thing.
So today, determine what is making you anxious, make your request to God, and trust that He will work it out in a way that leads the most people to His Son. If knowing Jesus more isn't an appealing result, please seek to understand how Christians can say, "I count all things as rubbish compared to the joy of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."
I hope you enjoyed the story! I look forward to any feedback, questions, or stories that you have to give! Comment with them below