Computers are chariots too…

Posted on October 8, 2009 12:00 AM MST by Tiffany Kinerson

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Psalms 20:7

Sometimes computers are of the devil, I’m certain. It seems like every time I walk up to checkout at a store, the computers crash, the line closes and everyone spends fifteen minutes waiting for the store to get back “on”. I’ve had infinite problems with my own computer, too. Considering a slam dunk of my monitor out the nearest window, I’ve gritted my teeth through minute upon minute of downloads and missed connections. My hard drive has died, my motherboard crashed, even my work disappeared. I have survived frustrations and chaos galore. I’ve learned I can’t really trust technology. Evil, right?

But then again, there are these other times.

Before a recent conference, I decided to print up a marketing sheet for a novel. Although a small voice told me it wasn’t ready for sales just yet, I figured “just in case” can justify about anything. So I pressed on and prepared for technological glory. Four hours before my ride took me to the airport, I went to a local printer to fire the sheet out. But their computer wouldn’t—or couldn’t—pull the document off my stick drive. Grrr. So much for a copy by the pros. What now?

I formulated a new plan: perhaps if I changed an image or two, figured out how to hook up my picture-quality printer to my computer, and then printed out at home, I could still have a decent marketing sheet with a good three hours left to putz around before my ride. An hour and a half later, my printer hooked up but out of ink and my normal printer having rolled out a crooked and grainy black and white on flimsy paper, I glared at my monitor. Believe me, I considered another slam dunk out the window. It was only steps away. And surely this was proof of the evil characteristics of this inanimate object.

No wait, new idea in spite of the villain who glared back. This time I would fix up the alignment, e-mail the new sheet to a friend and figure out a way to print out the stupid thing at a business center near the conference. Another half hour went by while I worked. Then. Oh, then, then, then. And of course, wouldn’t you know it? My keyboard stopped working. I checked the connection, jiggled the wire, drummed a jig onto it. To no avail. Why? Why, God? Why! I caught sight of the mouse. Maybe I could click my way to an e-mail. Attach it somehow with the mouse.

But the mouse didn’t work either.

No! I slapped my legs, slumped over my lap. No, no, no, no. No. Computers. They are crazy. They are frustrating. They make life decorative, maybe, but more often than not, they make life annoying. And they can only be of the devil. Only.

A calm voice rose through my rant. A patient voice that could not have been mine in the middle of my mini-tantrum. This conference is Mine. Your success is Mine alone.

I sat up and stared at the fully functioning computer, minus the data input accessories, of course. The cursor winked at me. God’s. God’s alone. I had done all the preparation a girl could do for the conference. I had edited and written, sought advice, reformatted, prepared, studied, typed and then edited again. Obviously God was using this computer tool to tell me it was time to let it go. Let it go. Besides, my ride would be there any minute.

So I drove away and off to the conference free of the fetters of a beautiful marketing sheet. And my writing partner met me there with a better, more beautiful marketing sheet for a better, more prepared novel. Full of life and stories, I waltzed into my appointments and meetings with publishing professionals. No sweat, no tears, no weight of responsibility pulling me down. And then an amazing thing happened: I marketed to everyone. Within my personality, within my strengths, and with all confidence. And it happened all because my computer blitzed out.

While sometimes it seems like the most annoying circumstances are explained only by giving credence to the evil one, more often than not, God, the King of all kings, the true Lord of all lords, guides and prods the life of His chosen people through all manner of devices. When seeming failure happens, it often turns into something greater than I expect. Something greater than I am. Some trust in chariots and some in computers. Some trust in slick marketing, some trust in themselves. But I choose to trust in the Lord my God. Because time and time again, He proves Himself as the hand that guides it all.  

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