“Father, are we doing the right thing?” I asked for at least the thousandth time.

We had stepped away from business nearly 3 months earlier. Karen was faithfully teaching our kids and I was faithfully writing this book. It was what we felt led to do. While we didn’t have any idea how the provision would come, we were trusting. But… well, we had just received our last paycheck. It barley took care of the month and that didn’t include our mortgage, which was already two weeks late.
“Father, have I missed You? I don’t want to miss You.”

I was headed to a meet some pastor friends I felt God had connected us too. They were gathering for the day to pray and encourage each other. I was doing about 60 miles per hour on two front tires I had no business driving on. The extra money I was dropping on gas and food to spend the day with these pastors was ridiculous – tires, just stupid…

“God, am I being stupid? My kids will want to eat next week. God, what are we doing?”

I felt Him respond to my heart with “Do you have enough money for today?”

“Well, yes.” I conceded. “But I do need tires!”

God seemed unconcerned with either my plight or my tone; He again responded to my heart by adding to His last question, “Do you have money for tires today?”

“Barely,” I responded, slightly distressed and still perturbed.

“Then go get tires.” He said to my heart.

After the meeting, I drove into a service center. After I was told two tires would cost $240 installed, I left in search of a Wal-Mart. I found one. I parked in the back lot, walked into the service area and bought the cheapest tires available – $140 for two tires mounted.

I walked back out to the van and parked it in the service lane directly in front of the garage doors. I got out of the minivan, handed the keys to the mechanic and then stood next to him, my mouth open, as we watched the left front tire deflate.

“Do you see this? I asked the mechanic incredulously.

“Yeah,” he said, shaking his head, eyes glued to the tire. Then he smiled and said. “You got somebody driving with you man!”

“Yes, I do.” I calmly replied.

As I walked across the parking lot to wait at the Starbucks that offered free Wi-Fi, I asked God “What does it mean?”

“I got your back.” He said.

While I walked, there were tears. There is nothing so sweet as hearing your Dad say, “Son, I got you.”

As I thanked my Father for His goodness, I also chuckled reliving one of the thoughts that shot through my mind while the tire was deflating. It’s a funny thought, but one that every person who has been tight in the wallet has had.

“I got every last moment out of that tire.”

There was an immense sense of satisfaction with that thought. The fact that I hadn’t wasted even an ounce of rubber. I had taken all the ground that tire could handle – even to the last foot. I used it completely. It served me to its absolute last breath…

“Well done, tire.” I thought, laughing with God as I walked.

I have heard my hero friend Bill Johnson say that his entire life is being lived for a 3 second moment with God. He figures that’s about how long it takes for God to say “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  I love that. I am living for those three seconds too!

It is my sincerest prayer that when I see my Father in heaven, He will have the same satisfied thought I had about my tire. “I got everything out of Jason. I had him to the absolute last. He took every piece of ground, every mile, every foot he was destined to take. He gave all, well done.”

I think we all want to hear that. We all want to be world changers for our Dad. We all desire to be great sons and daughters to our awesome Father. In our heart of hearts, we want to hear Him say, “You are my son, my daughter, and I am well pleased with you, well done!”

It’s in our DNA, to live for the pleasure of our Father. We are created to change the world, to transform darkness to light. We are designed to see the lost found, the poor rich, the sick healed, the dead raised. We are created to do great things for our Father.

We are designed to live a life of risk and trust, to do valiant acts of faith, to live out our radical acts of surrender, to leave it “all out on the field,” all for the glory of our King, so that when we get to heaven we will experience in those 3 beautiful seconds, those 6 stunning words. We are all living for the, “Well done.”

That said, I would like to suggest that the “well done” we will get in heaven has nothing to do with…well…doing.

Jason Clark is a writer, speaker and lead communicator at A Family Story Ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

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