A Different Spare Tire View

I remember reading a quote of how God is like a spare tire to many Christians – we forget it’s in the trunk until we get a flat tire.   One of the things drivers forget to check is the spare tire, because it’s all the way in the back, under a cover.  So when we get a flat tire we realize the spare tire is also flat!  Why?  We forgot to check on it, forgot it was there.

Using that illustration, the Lord shouldn’t be like a spare tire we forget about.  We should always remember that the Lord is there and call on Him always, not just when we have problems or trials, but every time.  In other words enjoy Him in prayer, while reading the Bible, while serving Him.  There are some who practically forget He’s there, and then when trouble comes expect Him to miraculously bring a solution.  So don’t make God a spare tire, leave Him in the trunk, and just forget He’s there.

But let me share another “spare tire” view about the Lord.  I just got my new tire this afternoon (remember the story I shared in my last blog?  If not read it first!).  As I drove away from the Tire Supply Store, knowing that my spare tire was back in the trunk, I had this peace in my heart.  I now knew that if ever, or whenever I do get a flat again I know my spare tire is there for me to use.

This is the same peace, the same assurance we need to have concerning our Lord.  When we need Him, we know He’s there.  And when we call, we know He’ll answer.

Psalms 46:1-3 (NIV)
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah

An ever-present help in trouble.  Always there.  Never absent. We can go through life, through the good and bad times, through the blessings and trials, knowing that our God is an ever-present help!  Look what else the psalmist says:

Psalms 46:7 (NIV)
7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

He is.  Isn’t He the One who promised He would never leave us or forsake us?  The Lord Almighty is with us.