What If He Doesn't Get Me There?

By Kirsten Nicole

October 30, 2023

Unsplash Picture by Jessica Knowlden

I pulled into the church parking lot a little early Saturday morning and waited in my car. The temperatures outside had dropped some, so it was too chilly to wait without the car running. It wasn't long before the rest of the group arrived, and we spent two hours and forty-five minutes of our two-hour meeting discussing and asking questions about upcoming changes in the student ministry. Coffee and donuts were provided, thank goodness, so I filled up a coffee with three little creamers and enjoyed the best donuts in the Springfield area.

By the time we were finished, I was in a hurry to respond to a phone call and everyone was on their way out the door, so I slipped outside, back to my waiting car. By now, it was drizzling. The cold had become a bone-chilling, wet cold, and I was glad to turn up the heat in my car. I didn't have much time between the church meeting and heading out to my grandparents' to do some work on stage props for our upcoming school play, and I still had errands to run. Not the best day for it, and Saturday Springfield traffic is a mess without cold rain.

It was about halfway to my next destination that I realized I really needed to use the restroom. That coffee had flown through my system. I was glad my next stop wasn't too far away, but I will say, the pitter pattering of rain on my windshield did not help me in my time of urgency.

It would only be a couple more minutes until my next stop.

That's when the thought struck me...

What if my car broke down?

What if I had to pull over on this busy highway in the cold and drizzling rain?

What if I had to wait for someone to pick me up on the complete opposite side of Springfield as the rest of my family?

And goodness...I needed to use the bathroom....

Of course, as a writer, all sorts of tension-filled scenarios run through my head on any given day. What if the bridge collapses while we drive over it? What if the clothes dryer caught fire while I was gone? What if someone blocked me in behind the railroad crossing while a train was going by and jumped out of their car to rob me?

It isn't that I am always living in fear. I know these scenarios are unlikely, and I don't dwell on them.

But this one caught my attention.

I had jumped in my car without a second thought that it possibly, potentially, by chance might not deliver me to the correct destination.

I had had not a doubt in my mind that in 15 minutes, I would be at my first errand stop.

I had had complete faith that my car would get me exactly where I needed to go.

It didn't even cross my mind to question whether I should prepare for the car to fail me.

And then the Lord impressed upon me.

Why don't you have that kind of faith in Me?

How is it that I could put my complete trust, without a hint of doubt, in a non-sentient vehicle that will someday break down, but I struggle to put my trust in the God of the universe, who personally created me, loves me, and has a plan and purpose for me? Why don't I sit back without a hint of doubt that the Lord will deliver me exactly where He wants me?

That end destination may not be where I wanted to go, of course. Oftentimes, it takes me places I didn't expect. But it never was about where I planned to go in the first place. Proverbs 16:9 says, "A mind of a person plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps" (NASB). When my faith is entirely in His guidance and plan and I am following His will, wherever He leads is the right destination. Do I have the faith to follow Him there and trust that His plan is perfect?

Granted, I had to get in the car first. I had to put my faith in the car, without even realizing I was putting faith in the car...because it was so second-nature.

Why can't I do that with Christ? It takes an active, sanctifying decision to put my faith in Him, but I want that decision to be so second-nature, that it doesn't even cross my mind to question Him.

Lord, create in me a spirit that never asks, "What if He doesn't get me there?"