We were in a boat in the middle of Lake Havasu. The weather was almost unbearably hot, but the water was cool and refreshing and we were having a lot of fun. That is…until the boat wouldn’t start.
The boat didn’t even belong to us. A friend had allowed us to borrow it to enjoy on the lake that day. We were unfamiliar with the boat’s operation, and though it had been running just fine all morning, when it would not start back up, we had no idea what to do. Though there were many other boats on the lake, we suddenly felt alone and unsure.
What to do? Well of course prayer was in order, immediately! As I watched my uncle trying again and again to get the starter to catch, I prayed, “Lord, if it be Your will, please let the boat start!”
And then someone in our group said something like, “We just need to have faith that God will make it start!”
Whoa. Back up.
Prayer, take two. Suddenly my prayer was not so much about the boat, but in questioning what I was praying! Who was right? I sat in the boat and contemplated faith.
I had full faith that God could make that boat start, if He chose to do so. But what if that was not what He chose to do? If He chose another solution to our situation, what did that say about my faith?
Nothing. My faith was placed in God’s ability -- as well in His wisdom. Again, I have faith that He could’ve started that boat. In His wisdom, He chose a different solution – we called a boat tow service, which pulled us to shore. In fact, the tow cost us nothing because the boat’s owners had a membership with that service. The outing still ended nicely as we successfully trailered the boat and returned it (the owners were glad we were not stranded and were not in the least upset about the situation).
What if my faith had been placed only in God’s ability to resolve the problem with that single solution? Would my faith have been shaken when He chose to answer our prayers in a different way?
“…whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” James 4:14-15“…if it be Your will…” is something I often tag into my prayers, but how often do I really stop to think what it means? “If it be Your will” acknowledges that sometimes my understanding of a situation, my ideas of how God should fix it, is not necessarily the same as His.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
For instance, I would never have guessed that He would choose to use a fun day on the lake to teach me an important lesson on faith.
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