Lessons from a lost MasterCard

I have recently started devouring John Piper's Taste and See: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life. This collection of brief daily meditations has proven to be a treasure chest of encouragement, conviction, and reminders of God's merciful faithfulness. Pastor John's hope at the beginning of the book is, "...if this book is seen on the bedside table of some battle-weary saints, I hope the reason they give is, 'Because I love to sweeten my mouth with the supremacy of God before I go to sleep.'" That has truly become the ministry of this book to my heart, and I wanted to share this reading, which actually comes from the very beginning. May it encourage all of you as it did me.

~*~

Lesson From a Lost MasterCard
"Cast All Your Anxieties on Him Because He Cares for You"

I used to carry a MasterCard for identification and rare, unforeseen expenses. Noel and I quit using it for regular purchases after the personal finance seminar at our church that exposed our own foolish habits with credit. That solved the problem of overspending our monthly budget. We use checks and cash for everything now.

So we know how much we have spent before the horrible reckoning at the end of the month. But I still carried it. Then I took it to California on vacation and lost it--and I had no idea where. It could have been in the seal show at Sea World. It could have been in the fruit shop in Tijuana where the bees covered the watermelon. It could have been in who knows how many McDonald's or on the beach in Coronado, where the sand really is gold and the condos sell for half a million dollars. (We were swimming, not shopping.) I had no idea where it was.

But the wonderful thing is that I felt no worries. Now, mind you, that's not natural for me. I am by nature a pessimist, and under ordinary circumstances I would have concluded that someone had already charged the limit on my card. I would usually have gotten mad at myself or my family and taken out my frustration on everybody. I would have looked hard for some divine purpose in all the trouble and had an awful time being happy.

But this time it was different. I felt no worries at all. I didn't get angry with anyone. I never felt any frustration. I was happy the whole way through. What a victory! The whole time it was lost I went about my business as usual, trusted God, and loved my family.

And when I got back from vacation, there it was in an envelope. Daniel Fuller, my friend and former professor, had mailed it to me from California. I had dropped it in his car.

Do you know what the secret to my happiness was? I never knew I had lost the card until I saw it in the envelope in Minneapolis.

I stood there holding it in my hand and smiling. Just think of how feisty I might have been if I had known I lost it. Think how depressed and worried and angry and frustrated and irritable I might have been. And the whole time the card was safely on the way to Minneapolis. All my anger and frustration and discouragement would have been absolutely pointless.

Now, is there not a lesson in this? There is for me. It's this: As soon as we discover we have a problem, God has already been working on it and the solution is on its way.

I have seen it happen again and again in my life. A letter arrives with the solution to some problem. But just the day before I had been discouraged and downcast, not knowing that the letter was already in the mail.

If we believe in the God of Romans 8:28, we will always remember that by the time we know a problem exists, God has already been working on it and His solution is on the way. Ponder the eagerness of God to work for us. "From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides thee, who works for those who wait for him" (Isaiah 64:4, RSV, emphasis added). "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show his might in behalf of those whose heart is blameless toward him" (2 Chronicles 16;9, RSV, emphasis added). "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me (literally: pursue me) all the days of my life" (Psalm 23:6).

That is what was happening before I knew I had a problem. And that is what God is doing all the time for those who trust Him. Of course, the point here is not that God spares His people trouble. And all of us know that a lost credit card is the least of our worries in a world of suffering like ours. The lost credit card is merely a parable of much greater things. They will not always turn out the way we think is best. But that does not mean God is not at work. He is always at work. And He is turning all our losses and all our pains into something good for us as we trust Him. This is His promise.

Therefore, fret not. Cast all your anxieties on Him. They are as unnecessary as mine would have been for the lost MasterCard. The time will come when you will see the wise and loving point of it all. By faith live in that moment now, even before you know.