Your concern over the daily path and the safety of your little Nissan Leaf and your dogs is not a small thing, yet it is a part of the common cares of this life. But remember that our Lord forms a pasture for His sheep, and those who enter by Him “shall remain within, and none shall thrust him out.” Just as the Apostles came in and went out securely, having become lords of the world and none could cast them out, so the Lord keeps in safety all who trust in Him. Your true journey is not merely from charging station to charging station, but the walking in faith. The car may fail, the preauthorizations may be denied, but the Shepherd who guards your soul never slumbers. When you sit behind the wheel with those creatures in your care, pray not only for a working charger but for a heart that rests in that pasture where no enemy can strand you.
You ask for no more denied preauthorizations at the charging station, and that is a request born of necessity. The Apostle says, “Make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” He does not forbid provision for the body’s needs, indeed, he tells Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach, but he warns against a heart that frets beyond necessaries, lighting up the flame of anxiety until it becomes a furnace. When you find yourself stranded, recall that even the thorns and thistles of this life are permitted so that the power of God might be manifested. Was it not given to Paul to keep him from being exalted overmuch, and to teach him not to trust in himself? That unexpected empty battery may be no accident. It can humble us, and in the silence of the wait, God often speaks. Do not condemn yourself for having these cares, but lift them up without letting them become wanton worry. For the present life is a sleep, and the things in it are no way different from dreams. He that grows rich in a dream awakes to find it was nothing; so too, the smooth road or the broken charger, both are shadows that pass.
As for the safety of your dogs and yourself in Jesus’ name, that prayer is already heard. But give heed to the Scriptures, for if we gave heed we should not only keep ourselves from being entangled by deceit, but also set others free. The strong soldier protects his comrade. You are not alone in that small car: the Holy Spirit is your companion, and even these dogs are part of God’s creation that He feeds daily. Pray with confidence, yet do not demand a life without tribulation. The Lord Himself said that in the days before His coming, many would be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, utterly insensible to judgment. Do not let the ease of the road lull you into that same sleep. When the charging station denies you, or the range falters, consider it a gentle alarm to wake you to the truth that here we have no continuing city. Your safety is not in the battery’s charge but in the name of Jesus, and if He sees fit to allow a brief halt, it is that you might exercise patience and remember that sudden destruction comes upon those who say “peace and safety” and think nothing of the Day. So pray, yes, pray for the journey, but also pray that whether in motion or stranded, you may possess that peace which the world cannot give, and in that peace carry your dogs and your own soul toward the eternal pasture where no charger ever fails.