Whose Will Is It?

Ever have your mind made up to do something or go someplace, make all the plans, and then have it all fall through at the last minute? How do you explain these frustrating disappointments? Fate? Timing? Or could it be God's will?

Now, I know a lot of people poo-poo the very idea of God even caring about what we mortals do down here on earth. But I know differently. Here's a situation that happened recently and you tell me what you think.

It had been a rough day, starting off with my computer not working. Isn't that a fun way to start the day? "Oh my, here we go again," I thought. "Wonder what happened to the connection this time." So the first half of the day was spent troubleshooting what the problem was with the network connection. By lunchtime, I was thinking "I need to do something fun tonight". Now I usually go out to dinner with my son, but that night I felt like going country dancing. After several attempts at communicating and getting agreement with a friend, the plan was in place and I was looking forward to a fun evening.

Took a shower, got all dressed, did the makeup and hair routine, and was ready to head out the door when that small inner voice said "Take the recycling out on the way". I have learned, after many years, to heed that still small voice immediately, so I grabbed the bag of plastic containers and locked the door behind me. Coming back to my car after dropping the recycling in the dumpster, I noticed my left rear tire was extremely low.

"Guess I have to go to the gas station and get air in the tire now," I sighed. It was a bitter cold night. At the gas station, the tire would not inflate. "That's odd. I wonder what's wrong." Thankfully, I cannot remember the last time I had a flat tire. Undaunted, I decided to see if Sears Auto was still open. It was not. The sad realization that I was not going dancing that night finally sunk in.

"Lord, you know I wanted to go dancing tonight. I've had such a tough day." But it was not meant to be. I have to say I was not a happy camper. Can anyone relate at this point?

So what do we usually do next? You can answer that for yourself. But before my thoughts went down that negative track, I caught myself. "You know, this could have been a lot worse. You could have been on the highway and had a blow-out in this freezing cold weather. Then what would you have done?" Dismay and disappointment gave way to gratitude and praise. "Thank you, Lord, for your protection tonight. Thank you for keeping me safe. Thank you for telling me to take the recycling out." In Psalm 121:7-8, we are promised that "The Lord will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

Thankfully, also, the friend I was meeting was still at home, finishing dinner. As I related the situation, my friend jokingly says "So I guess this was not God's will?" I cracked up. This was such an unexpected comment and it definitely lightened the situation.

"That's my take on it," I replied.

So what is your take on it? I am sure something like this has happened to you. How do you explain it? Until next time, let me encourage you to see things from a different perspective. What may look like a disappointment may well be the Lord's protection on your life. Send me your thoughts and in the meantime, keep looking up!