Good evening and Happy, albeit HOT, Sabbath!

The dreaded phone call

I received the dreaded call from my wife yesterday morning, "Hey honey, the car is making a funny noise..." Ugh.  Most of us have been on one side of that phone call or the other. Inevitably, whatever plans you had that day go out the window, and are replaced by sitting in the waiting room of the dealership.  

Fortunately for us, it turned out to be something we fixed on our own, and all is now well with the world, or at least the van.  But it brings to mind a story about another set of wheels that had unexpected problems, and consequently, ruined someone's day...

Car problems in the Bible?

Not a car per se, but a set of wheels for sure.  You recall the story of Israel fleeing Egypt through the Red sea.  After providing dry land for the Israelites to pass through on, the Egyptians decided to follow in hot pursuit.  However, things did not go according to plan. Exodus 14:25 (NIV), explains "He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.""  You of course know the rest of the story. The waters came back over Egypt and destroyed the entire army, allowing Israel to escape.

Often times in life, we face unexpected challenges, sometimes in the form of our transportation.  And in our automobile-centric society, life quickly comes to a halt when we don't have a set of wheels to rely on.  The Egyptians relied on their wheels as a military advantage. But without God on their side, that advantage was quickly neutralized.

What's our advantage?

Most of us our blessed with a reasonably comfortable life.  We have reliable transportation, freedom to come and go as we please (even if we don't have a car), and the luxury of air conditioning.  All of these things are blessings that God has granted us. But those blessings are given for a purpose.  In 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV) we read, "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."  

While it's not wrong to enjoy and utilize the things we have for our own purposes, let's remember:  All that we have been given is given so that we may do good with it! Whether it's a nice car, a beautiful voice, financial blessings or something else entirely, let's remember Paul's admonishment to use them to 'Abound in every good work!'