Just Because It Doesn't Work, Doesn't Mean It's Broken …

It was after midnight when my flight landed in Santa Barbara, California.  It had been a hard day's travel, including a five-hour flight sandwiched between two large men in the back of a plane.  All I wanted was to get my rental car, find my hotel, and crash. 

When I got to the rental car desks, my chosen company was the only one lit up.  As I approached, the woman behind the counter said, "Thank goodness you're here.  As soon as I get you set up, I can go home." I've never had such speedy service. 

I went out into the parking lot to locate the car.  It was dark, and I had trouble finding it.  Locating it at last, I threw my luggage into the back seat, lowered myself into the driver's seat, and pushed the power button (whatever happened to turning the key?). 

Instead of the engine turning over, I got a warning message: "Check the back seat."  What was there to check?  There was my suitcase and my briefcase. This car, however, was wired to prevent a start if people in the backseat were not buckled up.   Apparently, it thought my luggage was a person.  I got out, put my suitcase and briefcase in the trunk, and got back in the car. 

I hit the power button again.  The dashboard lit up, but the engine didn't turn over.  I checked to make sure the car was in park.  It was.  I hit the power button again, and the dashboard went blank.  I hit the power button, the dashboard lit up again, and still, the engine did not turn over.  I repeated this process three or four more times, but there was still nothing. 

I knew sometimes cars lock up.  Most fobs have some way to extract a real key that can be inserted into a slot, often located on the center console.  I examined the fob closely but couldn't find where the physical key was located.  I tugged and pulled, but no key appeared.   

I looked up and saw taillights disappearing from the parking lot; no doubt, the rental car lady headed home for a well-deserved rest.  I thought, "Great.  Here I am in a city where I know no one, with a rental car that doesn't work, six miles from my hotel." 

I thought about calling an Uber to get to my hotel, but it seemed silly to call for a ride when I was sitting in a rental car I paid for.  I began thinking evil thoughts about the Japanese engineers who designed this car.  Was this all a small part of some master plan to bend United States citizens to the will of foreign powers?  I thought about trying to read the owner's manual, but I was so tired I wasn't sure the words would make sense. 

In frustration, I hit the power button again.  The dashboard lit up as before.  In anger, I stomped on the gas.  The car flew backward out of the parking space, working just fine. 

Then I realized: The car was a hybrid.  It ran first on battery power, then on gas.  No wonder the engine didn't turn over.  The problem wasn't with the car; the problem was with me. 

The truth hit me: just because something doesn't work, doesn't mean it's broken.   

If you listen, God will take your frustration and teach you something.  I thought about times when I am frustrated in relationships and want other people to change.  Maybe they aren't broken.  Maybe I just don't understand how they see the world or how they operate in it. 

Isn't it funny when life frustrates us, we assume God is broken?  When life seems hard, or it seems like God isn't doing what I want, the problem probably isn't with God.  The problem is I am taken captive by my agenda and my frustration that I can't get my agenda to happen.  God calls me to pause and consider the prayer he wants me to pray: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.   

In my frustration with God, I often try everything I can think of and end up more frustrated.  I start thinking about solutions to my problems that don't make any sense.  I can even vent my frustration to God, blaming him for the way the world is. 

The good news is my Heavenly Father is patient with me.  It seems like he knows I must try to fix everything myself before I finally turn things over to him.  When I do, he comes to me with love and grace and shows me how to operate my life.  It helps when I read his Word and remember it is the operating manual for life. 

If you think your relationship with God isn't working, or if you are simply frustrated with God, remember that just because it's not working doesn't mean it's broken.  Could it be the problem, is you?  Maybe that's why the Psalmist said, "Be still and know that I am God."