“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Matthew 6:34 (MSG)

We humans tend to focus on ourselves. Someone is fired at work, we think, “I am glad it is not me!” What would Jesus do? He would pray for that person, encourage him, be compassionate, take him to dinner, be there for him.

We have a problem. We focus on our problems, and too often we make hasty decisions that could cost us quite a lot. It doesn’t have to be! Let’s focus on our Heavenly Father instead, who will lead us in the right direction.

Interestingly enough, when we are in trouble, we get all worked up. This leads us to having a bad night, for it’s as if heavy weights hang from our soul. This horrible feeling can last quite a while. Why not focus on our Father instead? He will lead us in the way, but only if we listen to Him.

Interestingly enough, when we leave everything in His hands, we experience inner peace, for didn’t He promise: “God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Instead of complaining, we are encouraged to welcome hardships as opportunities to experience our Father. May our minds be like the mind of Christ!

My youngest son came home recently with a nail in the front tire of my car. He already had the perfect solution in mind: “Let’s go to _______and get it fixed!” (Please note that I prefer not to mention the name…) Not thinking, I agreed. While driving there, I saw another tire repair place, and I felt attracted by it. Unfortunately for us, I dismissed the idea.

When we arrived at the targeted destination, we were told it would cost 31.50$ + tax to fix the tire. A bit high, I thought, but feasible. Somehow, however, I did not feel at peace. It was like a warning of upcoming adversity.

Within a minute the attendant called us back to say he couldn’t fix the tire. “The nail is too close to the inner wall of the tire,” he said, “and your tire has been compromised. You must have driven on it for a long time without enough air. Let me see how much it would cost for a new tire.” It was only a moment before he had the quote: “It will be about 200$,” he said. “But you’ll have to buy two tires because this one isn’t exactly the same tire as the others on your car. So you’re total will be 400$.”

Now suddenly the price of that nail jumped from 31.50$ to 400$! Wow!

He then checked his computer and noticed he didn’t have that particular tire in stock. “We will order them for you,” he assured me. “We’ll have them by tomorrow.”

I managed to get my gaping jaw to close enough to allow for speech: “Don’t worry about us,” I stammered. “We will go to another place.”

“Be careful,” he warned. “Some are swindlers!”

Once at another store, I felt at peace. I was told that no one can know for certain that a tire is compromised or not until tests are done on the tire. He then proceeded to fix the tire for 20$, taxes included, and his tests showed the tire was just fine.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

How much would you prefer to pay for a nail? 400$? Or 20$?

Who will we trust?

Rob Chaffart

(To access the entire “Majestic Mountain View” devotional series, please click here.)