All in Good Time
Originally, Aston Martin didn’t plan a convertible for their 1970s-era V8 Vantage. They had made convertibles, or Volante models, before. The term was first used in 1965 to denote soft-top DB5s and DB6s, but by 1970 Volantes were dead. Business wasn’t good for Aston Martin, and convertible sales in America (Aston Martin’s most important market) were dying too; America was not only avoiding convertibles, it wasn’t even building them.
But by the late 70s, the company was coming back. Dealers started demanding a Volante revival. The 1978 V8 Vantage Volante – sold exclusively in North America – was the answer.
On top of the excellent V8 Vantage underpinnings, the power-folding soft top was designed by the same hands that constructed Rolls-Royce Corniche soft tops. Operation was push-button simple – too simple, actually. Engineers didn’t want customers dropping the top at freeway speeds, because that would destroy it. So they devised a simple solution: the “down” button was wired through the handbrake so the top would only operate while the handbrake was up and the car was stationary. Problem solved.
Without that lock-out feature, how many owners would ignore warnings and decide they knew the best circumstances to raise and lower the top? Probably more than a few. That’s a lot of power at the push of a button, and humans don’t have a great record of trying to handle too much power at one time.
Jesus knew this when he introduced the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6). When he taught his followers to pray for God to give them all their needs, he used language that referenced God’s provision in the desert: “Give us this day our daily bread.” It’s a boldly specific request, and one that teaches followers to come to God empty-handed every single day, and trust that his wisdom will guide the distribution of that goodness at the right time.
Like a power-operating convertible top, sometimes God sets parameters on when he distributes his blessing so we don’t try to handle too much at one time and end up with a disaster. That’s why Jesus included “daily,” so his followers can learn to rely on God for not just for his provision, but the constancy of his provision, the portions in which he gives, and the timing in which he distributes his blessings.
This is hard to take in during the 21st century. Maybe you have the scratch to be a V8 Vantage Volante owner, and you’ve become accustomed to managing your investment portfolio, or planning the fertilizer and watering schedule of your estate for optimum lushness, or optimizing the adjustable suspension and drive modes on your 2022 Aston Martin Vantage for ideal performance results. Planning and managing are good, until they make us forget to rely on God’s constant provision every day.
If this is you, try thinking of yourself less as a manager of God’s creation and more as a member of God’s creation. Psalm 104 describes humans as members of God’s creation right alongside storks, grass, and planets:
“These all look to You, to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.” (Psalm 104:27-30)
God is always active in his provision to his creation. A loving God like that is someone all people can pray to and trust for everything they need, every day, in his timing.
Eventually, Aston Martin developed the technological sophistication to electronically limit soft top operation based on speed. About 25 mph is the limit given by most manufacturers, which is slow enough to prevent wind damage but fast enough to be convenient – cruising down your street, leaving a parking lot, or rolling up to a stop sign. How convenient. At those low speeds, there’s plenty of time to relax and relinquish control to the God who gives everything we need in his timing, yet gives in abundance.
