A few years ago, my friend Rob took his wife Linda to Hawaii. They had never been to Hawaii before, so this fulfilled a longtime dream of theirs. They were going to house-sit for a couple who lived on Oahu and had the use of both their vehicles. Rob and Linda drove their hosts to the airport to catch a flight to New York, then decided to take the other car, a six-series BMW convertible, on a drive up the west coast of the island. They took a picnic lunch and had a wonderful day exploring the island. On their way home, Rob had just accelerated to 60 mph on the freeway when he heard something hit the undercarriage of the car. The car felt odd and he knew something was wrong so Rob exited and pulled over.
He shut off the car, got out and walked around the vehicle, but not seeing anything wrong, he got back in, started it, and pulled forward very slowly. Then, he felt the right rear end of the car sag and he knew immediately that the wheel had come off! His first reaction was to cry out to God, “Oh, Lord! Why us? Why this car? Why now?” All Rob could think of was dollar signs and how he would break the news to the owner!
He used his cell phone to call a towing service but got a dispatcher. They told him it would be a two-hour wait and cost $300 to tow the vehicle 15 miles! Ugh! Rob declined the offer and hung up. Then, he and Linda held hands, bowed their heads, and prayed for God’s provision. They said, “Amen,” and Rob looked in the rear-view mirror. There was a tow truck behind them! The tow truck driver had been monitoring the dispatch service, heard their call and happened to be approaching their exit. He jacked up the rear of the BMW and the wheel fell away. All five lug bolts had sheared off in the wheel and three of them were rusted, so they had been gone for a while. The last one that broke off was what Rob heard hit the undercarriage of the vehicle.
The driver of the tow truck took them to the BMW dealer where they left the car and they got a lift home. But the whole time, Rob was thinking, “How am I going to tell the owner!” The owner was still on a long flight to New York. The following day, Rob finally got through to the owner who was extremely grateful for the way Rob handled the situation. The owner explained that the BMW was his wife’s car and had she been driving it at the time, she would not have had the presence of mind to do what Rob had done. A wheel coming off the car at 60 mph could have killed someone. The owner was so grateful that he insisted on paying for the towing as well!
This story demonstrates God’s sovereign care even in situations that seem against us at the time. Isn’t our God awesome!? What Rob saw as calamity was a blessing in disguise.
Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:25–30
Personal Application
Think of a time in your life when God turned disaster or misfortune into a blessing. Glorify God by sharing your story with someone today.
Jim Grassi, D. Min.
We cherish any verse in Scripture that reminds us to keep focused and intentional about evangelism and discipleship. “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5