Life comes at you fast
I have had “one of those weeks.” Have you ever had a time when everything went wrong? If you are reading this column, I would bet that you have. We all do. It’s called life. And sometimes, “life comes at you fast.”
This week, my car broke down. One minute it was running and the next minute, it was not. I drove it to a garage here in London to have it worked on. Well, they fixed the problem I was having and tried to start it to back it out of the garage and the car would not start. After additional diagnostics, I was informed that I needed a new fuel pump. I told them to go ahead and put one in. They finally wound up putting four new fuel pumps in because each of the pumps they put in was defective.
I went back to the garage on Wednesday to pick up my car and was told it wouldn’t start. They had ordered a fuel pump from the dealer, and it was good, but the car wouldn’t start. After about three hours, I was told they had found some acorns around the fuse box located inside the engine compartment and, apparently a squirrel or chipmunk had decided that a ground wire would make a good lunch because the fuel pump was not being grounded properly and would not work. Now… I am not a mechanic, (I know where the gas and the oil go) but I do know that everything has to make contact to work. After the wire was fixed, the car started. Yes. I was a “happy camper.”
I paid them, got into the car and headed home. But the car would hardly run. Now what? I drove (read: limped) back to the garage, they put their diagnostic meter on it and found out the fuel pump was not putting out enough fuel (it too was defective) and they ordered another fuel pump which was supposed to be in the next day. It would take an hour and a half to put it in. Since this was written on Wednesday, hopefully by the time you read it, my car will be fixed and running.
Why did I share my week with you? Because, sometimes, things don’t turn out like we hope they will. Jesus tells us, in John 16:33, “I have shared these things with you so that through Me, you will have peace in your hearts. In this world, you will have tribulation (problems, suffering, pain and testing) but be of good cheer because I have overcome the world.” I don’t know about you, but that is a very comforting thought. Jesus knows what we face because He faced it too. He was beaten and crucified. Yet, on the third day, He arose from the grave and ascended into Heaven and one day He is going to come back for those who have accepted Him as their Savior. So when you feel that everyone and everything is coming against you, remember what He tells us in John 16:33. Make that your “go to” verse when the “life comes at you fast.”
Pastor Thad Gifford is the founding and lead pastor of the Crossroads Community Church, 62 E. Second St., London. He can be reached at (740) 852-7800, e-mail him at sermon8er@aol.com or at their website www.3c-church.org.
