On our way back home from running some errands yesterday, we got a flat tire. The car indicator said my tire pressure was at 23 and for a brief moment, I wondered if I could make the half-hour drive back home. That is until the number rapidly dropped to 19, then 15 and by the time it had gone down to 12, I decided it was probably best to pull over.
As I got out of the car to check on the tire, I could hear the hissing sound as the air was escaping from my tire. Within a matter of a few minutes, my tire pressure was at zero. There was no way I was going to make it home.
We were stranded in the middle of nowhere. Stuck. No where to go. Nothing to do, but wait until AAA came out to change my tire.
Sometimes, that’s what life can feel like. You were on your way. Things were going well and then you find yourself sidelined with nothing to do but wait. You feel deflated, maybe even defeated. You’re stuck.
In the Old Testament, Joseph found himself in a similar situation. Much of his life was about waiting on God; being sidelined in life by unfair circumstances; even being overlooked and passed over while waiting in a prison cell. Yet, even in his waiting, we read, “But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him” (Gen 39:20-21).
In the book, “Waiting on God“, Wayne Stiles says,
[God] does promise his presence–a need far greater than we can comprehend. Although we lack understanding, we do know that he understands, and that’s enough–because he is with us. Whatever God removes from us, he has not removed himself. He never will.
And so while we waited on the side of the road, the Lord was with us. He extended his kindness to us as we found ourselves parked in the shade while it was a blistering 108 degrees outside in the Texas heat. Even though we were out in the middle of nowhere, I just so happened to pull over next to an RV park sign that listed the address so I could tell AAA exactly where we had been stranded.
So whether it be on the side of the road or in a jail cell, remember that in your waiting God is with you!