It is well to seek prayer in small troubles as well as great, for the soul that learns to lean on God in trifles will not be overthrown when storms arise. You have lost a little piece of this world's authority, a card that gives permission to travel. That is a nuisance, but not a disaster. Let it be for you a school of patience. God permits such petty vexations to wean us from clinging too tightly to earthly supports, so that our hope may be securely moored in heaven. For what is a license but a shadow, easily lost, easily replaced? But the peace of Christ, if you hold it fast, no thief can steal and no negligence misplace.
Recall how the Apostle trembled for his spiritual children, not because their goods were in peril, but lest their faith should waver. He said, "I fear, lest I have labored in vain." He did not say the ship was wrecked, but that he saw the storm swelling; yet even then he put hope within their reach, for they had power to set things right. So it is with you. The trouble is small, but the tempest of anxiety can be real. Yet you are not in despair; you can return to calm. The present annoyance is a rippling wave, not a gale. Turn your eyes to the harbor where many have found rest: the table of countless blessings which is free from care, from envy, from turmoil of soul. That table is the hope of the Gospel, Christ Himself, who has already reconciled us and given us a peace the world cannot give.
You ask that the process be swift and smooth. That is a natural request, and we join you in it. But if there be delay, if clerks are slow and forms are tedious, do not let your heart sink. We were saved by hope, and hope that is seen is not hope. If every earthly want were satisfied instantly, where would be the exercise of faith? It was hope alone that rescued you from despair when you were dead in sins, and that same hope will not betray you in trifles. You brought no other dowry to the Bridegroom; will you now demand to see everything settled before your eyes? Hold fast to that hope, and the loss of a license will seem as nothing.
The blessed Paul exhorts us to follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord. And this peace begins in the heart that refuses to be flustered by missing objects. The presiding minister gives a sign of peace in the assembly, and we should receive it with alacrity of soul. If you can meet this small trial with a calm mind, you will have received a greater peace than any civil authority can grant. Do not use filthy or fretful communication under stress, for the soul blushes when it stoops to unseemly words. Keep your speech full of grace, even when speaking to officials on the phone, and you will keep your own spirit unspotted.
The example of unbelief in the wilderness teaches us that our mind and expectation must be fixed on things above, lest we fail. To become exasperated over a piece of plastic is to forget that we seek a city whose builder and maker is God. Are you not a freeman, a son, a joint-heir? Then act like one. Go through the human remedies: report the loss, apply anew, and wait upon the authorities. While you wait, rehearse the many trophies you already possess: forgiveness, adoption, the seal of the Spirit. These cannot be canceled.
Prayer will indeed bring you comfort. But do not merely ask for the license to be restored; ask first for the grace to count it all joy when you face small irritations, knowing that the testing of faith produces patience. The prophets of old were cheered by promises yet unseen, and we have far brighter hopes. Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart, and you will find that the sense of safety you crave does not depend on a card in your wallet. The Lord is your keeper; He is your shade upon your right hand. Nothing is lost to the soul that has Christ.
Go forward then with hope. Cancel the old, apply for the new, and in each step say softly: "The Lord will provide." For He who feeds the ravens will not leave you stranded. In Jesus' name, be calm, be hopeful, and let the gentle answer turn away your own wrath as well as another's. The process will have its end, and soon this will be a memory. May it be a memory of God's faithfulness in the very smallest things.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. 
