- The car had to be a demo model, I didn't want to pay for the new car fragrance
- Mileage capped at a specific number
- Low risk
- Low fuel consumption
- My monthly repayment budget was to not exceed the current budget
Armed with my short checklist, I hit a few showrooms. On these visits I was either unhappy with the service, the sheer inflation or the high prices of the cars. I could not handle the pressure of another persuasive sales person who had not closed a sale in almost a year.
I decided, to hit the show room incognito, just another person, looking for a car. The internet search flooded me with lots of options, including those outside of my requirements. Some offers would score me a bigger car if I compromised on the age or the mileage, but I was determined to get a good deal for the long run so I stood my ground and I kept looking. The more I looked there more results and the more options were presented to me. I had to come to a decision, and quick. So I decided - My car would be blue or ocean green. With that in mind I found 2 cars that matched this and I filled in the form online. The next morning I was woken up by a call from the sales person with the blue car. The earliest bird really does catch the fattest worm. By the end of the day paperwork was exchanged I took delivery by the end of the week.
When I related this story, an acquaintance remarked that they have never heard of anyone buying a car 'sight unseen'. I also don't recommend this. Don't do this at home!
However I knew what I knew. My actions were backed up by something I did not mention in the earlier paragraphs. This was not just an isolated event in my life of just getting a car. Like any other big decision; this was a joint decision with my personal board of advisors. What you do not know is how I kept checking with the Holy Spirit, how I kept praying under my breath as I walked around showrooms, "Help me". When I narrowed my choices down it was in consultation with God.
When Gideon in Judges 6 was approached by the angel and told that He is a mighty man of valor; kept on asking for confirmations and confirmations of confirmations. The same with Abraham's servant, when Eliezer was sent to find a wife for Isaac, he asked God for a sign to know when he would meet the right wife. Genesis 24: 3-4
Answers are always there in life for every area of need; however, what matters is what you fix your eyes on. It is believing that there are answers and they are good and favorable answers. Jeremiah 29: 11 reminds us that God a plans for us. Good plans.
Alternatively, negative, harmful answers are there in abundance. As I searched for my car, I knew well in the back of my mind that there are unsavory characters out there waiting to take a woman like me for a ride. The world is not perfect, the wicked are among us and will always be there.
What we can change, however is where we fix our gaze. Psalm 121: 1 The psalmist talks about lifting up our eyes to the hills and know that our help comes from the Lord. With that said, shift your gaze. Rather than a reading every accident, robbery and corruption report; shift the gaze to the one who holds the future, the one who knows all things. The giver of peace.
Instead of gazing on the pain and injustices of the past, how about you focus on the One who can go back into your past and rewrite it because He exists outside of time. So, next time you open a social media page or have a conversation by the water cooler at the office, check your specifications. Does what you open yourself up to help you narrow it down to answers or does it open the flood gates of unrelated, untrue offers?
How do you narrow it down- Scripture has a word for every area of your life. When you have attached The Word to anything, it becomes easier to notice when you are being taken for a ride. For that to work you must hold your ground. Fix your gaze.
