In honor of our 30th ministry anniversary, I've been going back through our archives and reminiscing on what God has done. Wow! I found some devotions that are deserve a second look, so for the rest of the month, let's celebrate God faithfulness (and maybe enjoy a laugh along the way!)

Give Your Rear End To Jesus (It Makes All the "Differential")- April 2, 2010

Have you ever heard the saying, "God helps those who help themselves?" That's not in the Bible (Ben Franklin said it by the way). No, the Bible is more an example of "God helps those in spite of themselves." He has certainly worked that way throughout my life. A prime example happened just last month.

For the past several months, our van has had an increasingly loud hum (actually more of a roar) and slight difficulty shifting after we had been driving for several hours. I put off taking it to the shop during the winter while we didn't have any long trips, but last month I knew it was time for a checkup before we headed south to Arkansas. The local mechanic I use recommended a Transmission shop, so I called and set up an appointment. When I walked in the door, I was greeted by the manager, who happened to be a friend from high-school (This may be common in smaller towns, but in a city the size of KC, this has to be God-orchestrated). I left comforted that God would see me through once again.

A little later, my buddy Bob called with a report. "Well, you've got two problems," he said. "The transmission is shot, but your noise is coming from the rear differential." I don't know much about cars, but I do know that one problem is expensive, and two problems is more expensive. Ouch. Bob said he would send it over to a rear end shop and then they would tear into the transmission.

The next day Bob called to update me on the situation. He said, "My guy says you've got the most worn out rear end he's ever seen!" (Man, I hope he was talking about my van!) He went on to say that the gears usually freeze or lock up long before they make it to this condition. He said, "It's a miracle the van was still moving." Yeah, we know something about those miracles...

The following day, Bob called with update number two. "Go check out Facebook, I've posted a picture of your transmission." I'm thinking, 'wow, my transmission may be more popular than I am.' He continued, "We only see about one of these a year where it got so hot it turned the steel blue." (Apparently that pretty blue part in the picture is supposed to be same gray as everything else. Oops.) Once again, only God was keeping us rolling down the road.

The guys at the shop repaired and replaced all of the worn out parts and guaranteed another 50,000 miles of traveling. Next came the hardest part...the bill. Once again, God had everything under control. Toward the end of last year, we mentioned we probably had some upcoming van repairs and asked for prayer that God would keep us safe on the road. Three families from three different states sent in donations toward our repair. As I stared at the invoice, I shook my head in amazement. Those three checks added up to almost the exact amount due. To show how God goes above and beyond, my buddy gave me a discount since we were old friends. Amen!! Now we had enough left to pay for our gas to Arkansas. Praise the Lord!!

Friends, we know that economic times have been tough for everybody lately, us included. We have so many friends who are out of work and have been for entirely too long. Just remember, no matter how bad things look, God is still in control. The verse, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." - Matt 6:33, is still a promise, and God can still handle "all these things" in your life. Just make sure when the going gets rough, you cling even tighter to His unchanging hand.

As a footnote, almost all the miles we have put on our van have been for ministry. That means our transmission was used up spreading God's good news. When my time here is finished, I hope the same can be said about me.

And... I hope no one ever tells you your rear end is worn out. How embarrassing.
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Drive on!
Phil and Pam

This devotion appears in our Puddles of Joy book from a few years ago. If you'd like to enjoy 84 more stories like this one, order a copy for yourself (psst - they make great gifts, too!). We'll even include a bonus copy of our LIVE CD for free until the end of April! Order today at www.PhilandPamMorgan.com/Store. ​
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