About a week ago as I was pulling my car out of my garage and rushing to an appointment, I saw a notification on my dashboard that one of my tires was very low on air.  

It just so happened that the appointment was close by, so I just said a quick prayer and slowly drove to get to my appointment.  I figured I had enough air to get me there and I would deal with it afterwards.

After my appointment was over, I started my car and my dashboard showed that the tire had lost even more air during the hour it was sitting in the parking lot.  But it just so happened that I was in a parking lot that had a gas station in the same complex, and it had an air pump.  I filled my tire with air and headed to the tire store that just so happened to be very close by.    

I figured that a nail may have pierced my tire, but that maybe the tire could still be repaired, and I would be back on my way soon enough.  Well that wasn’t the case at all.  Upon inspection by the attendant at the tire store, I learned that a razor blade had cut my tire and it could not be repaired.  

I also discovered that two other tires on my car were dangerously low on tread and needed to be replaced.  But the tire store did not have the tires I needed in stock.  And to top it off, it was the Friday of Labor Day weekend.  So what would usually take one day to come in, would now take 3 days to come in.

At this point, there were  a lot of reasons for to start complaining.  But I decided instead to start thanking God for the good things in this story.

This could have happened on a highway, while cars were racing passed me at dangerously high speeds.  But it didn’t.  

I could have been driving at night and been far away from a gas station or the tire store.  But I wasn’t. 

Buying three new tires unexpectedly could have been a huge financial stress.  But it wasn’t.

And in my story, not only did God protect me, but He also blessed me.

You see, it just so happened that the tire store was running a sale on the very tires that I needed.  The sale was going to end in a few days, so I was there at just the right time.  And it turned out that tire that was damaged by the razor blade was completely covered under the warranty, so there was no additional cost for that tire.  

And when it was all said and done, I left that store a few days later with three new tires for the price that I usually pay for one.  Indeed I was thanking God for taking care of me.

What started out as a major inconvenience turned into an opportunity to see how God was working behind the scenes for my good.  

Are you in the middle of a situation that you didn’t anticipate and all you see is everything that is going wrong?  I want to encourage you to look closer at your situation and find some things to praise God for.  I know you will find that even in the mess, God is working it out for you.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28 (NIV)

~ Vijoy