Greater is He that is in the World!

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While running several errands today, I breathed a simple prayer of thankfulness for my little car. “It’s been running good ever since we got it, and it’s so nice not to have car payments!”  On I went to my final stop to pick up a few cold items at the grocery store. Upon returning to my car, I was caught off guard when I saw it. A flat tire! Not just a low tire. This one was as flat as a pancake!

Quickly contemplating my options, I hoped the tire had just deflated while I was getting groceries and that the rim wasn’t damaged. Knowing the necessary tools and spare tire were in the back of the car, the idea of getting down on my hands and knees and manhandling a tire – in a public parking lot – was not the first option I wanted to try. Rather, I began trying to track down my husband hoping that he could rescue me. No answer. After several unsuccessful attempts to reach him, I decided to wait for his reply - hoping he was still in the nearby vicinity.

While waiting, I had to smile at God’s grace in my life. This week had been very hectic, and the personal commitment I had made to write this blog post kept getting put off one day after another. The time for quiet creativity had apparently just arrived, and I was even able to scrounge up a few pieces of blank paper to write on. (Sometimes it pays not to have too tidy of a car!)

How differently would the world around me approach this situation? Many would have believed that they had “caused” the flat tire simply by commenting on how problem free the car had been. Does that sound familiar? Many of us have even played that seemingly innocent childhood game of “Jinx” when two people say the same thing at exactly the same time. Some Christians even hold to a type of mysticism cautioning their fellow believers not to pray for things such as patience “because then God will really test you!” Would our world not be a better place if we all prayed daily for patience and trusted God to help us through our daily challenges?

No doubt, our words are powerful. The Bible cautions us about the use of our words and to be careful what we allow out of our mouths. Paul even cautions Timothy “to have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales” (1 Timothy 4:7). My words of thanksgiving and praise sent heavenward earlier today did not cause my tire to go flat. Rather, I believe that God actually used that moment to prepare my heart to praise Him in spite of the temporary delay in life. Plus, He slowed me down long enough to share my thoughts with you today – to encourage and strengthen you through your daily challenges.

So, the next time you are tempted “to knock on wood” to keep something bad from happening after you speak words of appreciation – STOP! Give credit where credit is due for all the blessings in your life. Our Almighty God is worthy of all our praise, and we need not fear that words of praise can somehow derail the hand of God on our lives. “Rejoice! Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4

Oh, and yes, my sweet husband was by my side in less than 20 minutes and had the tire repaired in no time. Just one more special blessing of the day.

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