On the Work God Does in the Background

What do Jesus, car keys, and timelines all have in common?

I’ll get to that, but first, let me tell you a little story about my week.

Tuesday afternoon, 14:05

My shift ends a bit early on Tuesdays, and I like to fill my gas tank on my way home. This Tuesday was no different as I pulled up to the pump, grabbed my wallet, and hopped out of the car.

I paid, punching in my PIN while wind whipped my hair around my face. The smell of gasoline permeated the air as I fitted the nozzle to the tank and started to fill my car.

I had planned to go over my day planner while my car filled, so I rounded the back of the car and pulled on the door handle to let myself inside.

It didn’t budge.

After another hopeless tug, the desperate truth dawned on me: I had locked my keys in my car. At the gas station. My phone taunted me from the passenger seat.

Reluctantly, I turned and headed for the building. I explained the situation to the attendant, who immediately handed me the station phone.

I expressed my gratitude, turning toward the window as I dialed Lars’ number. Innisfail was the perfect place to have locked the keys in the car since Lars works nearby. .

Groaning internally, I called Lars and asked him to bring my keys to the gas station.

“Where are they?” He asked.

“In the junk drawer. NOT the ones mum brought on Sunday, the ones from the drawer.”

The wait felt enormous. I stared out the window, watching the trees flutter in the breeze, willing Lars to hurry.

// Sunday morning, 11:43

Rewind to the prior Sunday morning at church. After the service, my mum approached me, a set of Ford keys dangling from her palm.

“I found these on the key rack. They don’t match any of our cars at home, maybe they’re yours?”

I took the proffered keyring dubiously. “I took my spare keys with me when I moved out. These must be from my old car.”

“Well, why don’t you just take them and we can sort it out another time?” She suggested. I took the keys home and tossed them on the kitchen table.

// Tuesday afternoon, 14:24

Finally, finally, I see Lars’ grandmotherly car round the bend and pull up in the parking lot. I eagerly push open the door, the little bell above me jangling, the heat of the day whooshing up to greet me. Lars and I meet at the door of my car, where he turns the key in the lock.

Or at least, he tries to. The lock won’t turn.

“How can this be the wrong key?!” I ask, incredulously. “I brought it with me when we got married!”

There’s nothing for it but to return to the house and pick up the key Mum brought to church. I fire off a quick text to my sister, whom I’m supposed to be meeting in less than five minutes, letting her know things are taking a little longer than expected.

Lars takes me back to the house, and we pick up the key—the right one this time. When we get back to the gas station, I try to walk as inconspicuously as possible, pretending to be invisible as I approach the car that’s been parked at a gas pump for over half an hour now.

I let out a sigh of relief when the key unlocks the door.

It’s not until I’m back at the house that I realize the implications of what God was doing behind the scenes.

My mum brought that key to church just two days before I locked my keys in my car. She hadn’t planned to. I hadn’t asked her to. She just did it.

Two days before I’d even locked my keys in my car, God was providing the solution.

Before I’d even thought to ask God for help, He’d done the work.

//

In Matthew, Jesus gives a little preamble to the famed Lord’s Prayer. He says,

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.
Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” —Matthew 6:7-8

Remember when I asked what Jesus, car keys, and timelines all have in common? I’m sure you can guess by now. But this story isn’t just a story. The illustration is meant to point you towards the truth: that God is at work doing things we can’t see, that we can’t even begin to imagine!

I don’t know what exactly you’re up against right now. Maybe you’re feeling anxious about a transition in your life. Maybe you’re feeling hopeless when you look at a seemingly insurmountable wall. Maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed by a giant to-do list that’s swallowing you up.

Whatever it may be, can I remind you, friend, that God is already at work? He knows what we need before we even ask it. He’s doing things on Sundays for prayers we’ll pray on Tuesdays.

And no, it doesn’t always work out as picture-perfect as the car keys did for me, but doesn’t everything with God always work out one way or another?

In the darkness of night, we can’t see God bringing about a new day. Yet, every morning, light streams through the window, mercy dancing in the shadows on the wall.

He’s already here. He’s already at work. And He is with you. Doing background work that will perhaps one day be revealed to us as His providence and sovereignty.