“Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God.” – Psalm 146:5
In the summer of 1982, I traveled from Oregon to Illinois for Midwest camp meeting with a group of nine others, including my two children. We went in a 1979 Chevrolet twelve-passenger van with all our luggage piled on top. Needless to say, the van was overloaded.
The camp meeting was wonderful, and on the return trip home we stopped to visit a few of our Midwest branch churches as well. After that, though, we ran into some car troubles. About a hundred miles east of Oklahoma, the right rear tire blew out. Our driver was able to bring us to a safe stop along the shoulder of the freeway and we put in the spare, but upon letting the jack down we discovered that the spare was also flat.
With few options available to us, we decided to pray and then proceed as far as the Lord would allow on the flat tire. We started slow at first, but as we drove we were amazed to see that the tire actually started to fill back up with air. After traveling a short distance, the tire was up far enough to get back on the freeway at fifty-five miles per hour! At the next service station we checked the tire’s air pressure and it read ten pounds, yet the tire was all the way up. I aired it up to forty pounds and then we continued on our journey.
We knew we should stop at the next city and purchase new tires, and at a particular exit I felt the Lord prompt me look for a tire shop. I did, and there was a shop just off the exit. However, they did not have the tires we needed. They recommended another place, and we went there, but they could not help us either. We would have left, but another employee there heard what we needed and said he could help. He said he had been praying that morning and the Lord urged him to go get two tires from his warehouse for someone who would need them that day. They were exactly what we needed and were the last two of that kind that they had! We proceeded on our trip rejoicing and praising the Lord for His goodness to us.
As we follow God’s leading in our lives, we can expect Him to help us every step of the way. He will open doors that were previously shut and make ways where there were none before, all to bring glory to His name. What a privilege it is to see God working and to be included in His plans!