Car Trouble and Hope

Last week, my car decided to die. It’s been on its last leg for a while now but the current repair bill was just too high for a car of its age and mileage. My heart sank, the tears came, and I was overwhelmed. What could we afford? Could we get financing? Could we find something quickly? Could we find a good price for what we could afford? The questions seemed endless. The following day, as I was thinking about my car trouble, this thought came to my mind—are my troubles really all that serious? I decided to look at some statistics for issues that many people had to face last week.

• 600+ people committed suicide
• 20,000+ children were aborted
• 46,000+ people died
• Thousands of women had a miscarriage
• Thousands of people were diagnosed with cancer

The statistics were sobering and really helped me put into perspective my own problems. God helped me through the whole car ordeal and I’m now driving a nice used minivan. I can now go on with my life and really not be affected by the car problems I had last week. But how many of the people in the list above or people closely related to them can say the same thing? They will be affected for some period of time (more than a few days), and many of them for a lifetime. However, the same hope that God offered to me during my not-so-serious car ordeal, God offers to those people and their families as they face the much more serious consequences of living in a fallen world. The hope that we have is well-illustrated in the following verses. May they give you comfort today no matter what your problems are.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)