Dr. Stanley, I can’t rent you a car

Dr. Stanley, I can’t rent you a car.”

I understood the words the woman across the counter  was saying to me, but I could hardly take in the full meaning of  her statement.

“You can’t?” I asked. “Why not?”

“I don’t have a car to rent to you.”

A sad fact emerged over the next few minutes. There was no  car that any automobile rental agency could rent to me at that  airport. I had planned this trip for weeks, getting everything in  place-or so I thought. I had eagerly anticipated this time alone  with God in the Great Northwest, photographing places of wonderful   natural beauty. I had everything in order-except a car.

I took a cab to the hotel where thankfully, I had a reservation,  and went directly to the hotel’s restaurant to eat a bite and collect   my thoughts. Staring at the pouring rain outside the restaurant’s   windows, I silently prayed God,You’re in charge. He knew I  didn’t want to turn around and fly home. I felt very strongly that  the Lord had given His full blessing to my taking this trip-I had  been very much at peace as I had mapped out various routes and

locations. Once again I reflected, God, You’re in charge. I had no  idea what to do, but I knew that God knew. I felt totally dependent   on Him.

While I was sitting there, a couple of men came by, and one  recognized me. They stopped to introduce themselves and talk  for a while. One of them asked me what I was doing in Oregon,  and I told them the story of what had happened. He quickly  responded, “Don’t worry about that! We have three cars, and I’d  be happy for you to use one of them. It’s in good shape. I’ll have  a car over here for you in forty-five minutes.”

As promised, in less than an hour, the car was at the hotel-and   it was a very nice car. I was blessed by this man’s spontaneous   generosity, I knew that God had sent him directly to me.  I was thankful to him and even more grateful to God.

I had a fantastic time photographing there for a couple of days.  At the end of the second day, I had the idea to set up my camera  in plenty of time to get a good sunset shot from one particular  spot along the Oregon coast. When I arrived at that location,  which was fairly remote, I unloaded my photographic equipment.  While I was standing by my car, I was approached by an elderly  woman who recognized me, and we talked for a few moments.  Then I transported my gear on foot to the particular vantage point  I had selected. I took several photographs as the sun was setting,  and then packed everything and started back to the car.

As I reached into my pocket for the car keys, I made a startling   discovery … no keys. I looked through my bags of camera  equipment … no keys. I thought, Did I lean over and drop those keys  from my pocket while I was talking to that lady? I looked carefully  around the outside of the car … no keys. By this time, the sun

was setting and it was starting to get dark.No one else was  around. But for the first time, I noticed a fairly large sign at the  edge of the parking lot that read, “Warning! Unsafe area. Do not  remain here after dark.”

Great! I thought. I’m alone. It’s getting dark. And now I learn I’m  in an unsafe area. It was at that moment I saw my keys dangling from  the ignition inside the locked car. My heart momentarily sank  and I thought, What a mistake to leave the keys in the car!

I prayed, “God, You know my location. You know the situation.   You know what that sign says. You see my keys. You see me. I  knowYou are 100 percent in charge of my life. I don’t know what  You are going to do, but I’m trustingYou to help me.”

I felt impressed to walk around the car and try all the door  handles, which I had already done. This time, as I pulled on the  back passenger-side door latch, to my great amazement it opened.  All the other doors were locked tighter than a drum. But that one  door opened. I retrieved the car keys, threw my equipment into  the car, and drove back to my hotel, praising God all the way!

Two more great days of scenic beauty and photography passed  and I found myself following a road next to a river that had a number   of waterfalls. It was just about dawn as I entered this beautiful  area, but the light wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned. I checked  my map and saw that Mount Hood was in that immediate area. It  couldn’t be seen from where I was along the river, but I had a  hunch that if I would just follow a back road in a particular direction,   I’d come to an area that would give me an open line of sight  to the mountain.

Finally I rounded a bend and there it was, Mount Hood, with a  field and trees in the foreground. Absolutely beautiful! I continued

along the road, hoping for a small body of water that reflected the  mountain. To my delight, a small lake soon appeared. I took several   photographs, and then I got back in the car, intending to  retrace my route, when I happened to notice the gas gauge. This  was the first time that day I had looked at it. Unfortunately it was  on empty.

I thought back over the route that I had taken to get to that  point and realized that I hadn’t seen a gas station all morning. For  that matter, I had no idea even where I was! I had just been following   the roads as I came to them, looking upward and ahead  to try to spot the mountain and find a lake.

Again I prayed, “Dear Lord, You are in control.” I was keenly  aware that for the third time that week, I was in a desperate situation   and only God could help me out of it!

About that time a big power-company truck drove up near  where I was parked. The man got out, climbed up a pole, adjusted  something there, and then came back down. I was waiting for  him at the bottom of the pole. I said, “Sir, could you tell me where  I might find a gas station?”

He said, “Go up this road about a quarter of a mile, turn left,  and it’s right there.”

I had just enough gasoline to get there.

Had that power-company employee not stopped next to  my car, my natural instinct would have been to go back down  the roads I had been on, not to go farther down a road that  seemed to lead to even greater isolation. I knew that once  again God had provided for me in a unique way. Indeed, He  was in control!

It seemed every time I turned around that week, I found

myself in a position of begging God for mercy: “Here I am again,  Lord. I need You. I belong to You. You are in control of my life.  I’m trustingYou.”

That afternoon I returned to the river, and this time the light  was perfect. I got some wonderful shots of those waterfalls. I realized   that if I hadn’t taken a slight “detour” that morning, I not only  would have missed out on seeing the beauty of Mount Hood from  a remote location, but I would have missed out on a major  miracle of God’s protection and provision. Those shots of the  waterfalls were a reassurance from God-“See, I’m in control of  all your steps, both the ones that seem to be filled with stress and  the ones that are filled with pure peace and joy.”

As I reflected on that experience, I realized that during that  week I was never once afraid, anxious, or worried. I was a little  upset with myself for not arranging for a rental car, for locking my  keys in the car, and for not paying attention to the gas gauge.  Given those mistakes, I was concerned about what I should do or  not do, but each time I got into difficulty, I really wasn’t afraid,  anxious, or worried. Rather, I was aware that I had a big need that  I couldn’t solve on my own. I had to rely on the One who could  solve the problems for me.

Finding Peace: God’s Promise of a Life Free from Regret, Anxiety, and Fear (Charles F. Stanley)