You Have No Idea What Will Happen Next

George Keith’s new BMW had just downshifted into first gear and nothing he did would make it shift up into second. He called the dealership, and they told him to bring it in at 7 am the next day. When he arrived, he was told that he was going to have to wait another hour because the mechanics did not start until 8 am.

George was livid! Why would they have 7 am appointments if nothing could be done until 8? He had a meeting at 8 o’clock and now he was stuck in a waiting room. When the mechanics finally came on duty, they fixed his car in less than five minutes. This made him even angrier! If it was something so simple, surely, they could have squeezed him in the day before. Now, his entire day was behind schedule. George jumped in the car and took off, hoping to catch the end of his meeting.

As he raced downtown, George looked over his right shoulder and saw an airliner flying low over the Hudson River. Then, the jet turned and flew straight into Tower Two of the World Trade Center. George stopped and watched as the tower burned and collapsed in a heap of rubble. The meeting he missed that morning was on the 73^rd floor of Tower Two.

Please hear me clearly: I am not saying that God made George’s car have transmission trouble so that he would not be in the building that morning. Nor am I saying that God overlooked all those who were in the building and lost their lives.

My point, however, is this: Sometimes, what looks bad right now may be a blessing. Unwanted circumstances can lead to unexpected joys. The truth is, we simply do not have enough information. We do not know the big picture. Looking back, George Keith is thankful for his faulty transmission. Without it, he would not be here.

When trouble comes, try to avoid overreacting. Focus on what you can learn from the circumstance. Wait and see how things play out. Pray and trust that God is at work.

As the cross demonstrates, our best blessings sometimes come from the worst circumstances.

“I know… you are temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials and temptations. This is no accident—it happens to prove your faith” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

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