For over 30 years now, Peggy and I have taken our cars to Payne’s Service for maintenance and repair. It’s not a flashy place, just a few bays on Indianola Avenue, and I’ve never heard a catchy Payne’s jingle on the radio. So, what keeps us coming back, and why have we referred so many friends there over the years? The people at Payne’s — Jeff, Tiffany, Jeremy, and others — are extremely knowledgeable and very good at what they do. Equally important, their integrity over the years has gained our confidence. They alert us to repairs we’ll need months down the road (which we appreciate), but never have they even attempted to oversell us or push a repair prematurely. Why Payne’s? Their ability and reliability.
Trust doesn’t always come easy: it can be anxiously built, openly vulnerable, and easily shaken. For years, I struggled to entrust myself to Jesus. I saw Him clearly in many believers and wanted faith like theirs, but perhaps in response to what seemed to me as painfully unanswered prayers, I would not trust. But as Paul writes, “if we are faithless, He remains faithful,”1 and, over time, God faithfully showed Himself to be more than trustworthy. I had looked to Him for my desires, but He desired something greater — the healthy, two-way kind of relationship in which each is all about the other. It is in this kind of relationship that we best read Jesus’ promise: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”2 For it is in relationship that His desires become ours and our desires willingly subject themselves to His.
Still, there are times when God seems silent, nonresponsive. We know He is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine”3; we’ve seen too much to seriously think otherwise. Yet this only heightens our discouragement — God is able answer my prayer, so why doesn’t He? Here Jesus calls us to persevere, that we “ought always to pray and not lose heart.”4 Trust our Father to do what is best, when it is best. For He is able, and He is reliable.
“The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” — Lamentations 3:25 ESV
Father, “My times are in your hand.”5 I choose to trust You. Lead me in Your path for me, and be my God. In Christ I pray. Amen.
1 2 Timothy 2:13 NASB
2 Mark 11:24 ESV
3 Ephesians 3:20 NIV
4 Luke 18:1 ESV
5 Psalm 31:15 ESV
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Paul Nordman—Author 
4 replies on “But Can I Trust Him?”
Paul, I forwarded your devotional to Pat Payne, one of the Payne sons who used to work at the Payne Service garage. Pat is a long time friend of over 35 years. Pat went into electrical construction, ultimately starting and operating his own elecrical contracting company, Higher Power Electric.Below is an excerpt from his email this morning.”Thank you for sharing this inspiring article using our family’s automotive business as a backdrop to a higher message. It is good to hear about small businesses having a positive impact on individuals, or even a community, with the services they provide. Thank you for sending this message and especially your friendship over the years.”Glenn
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It’s a small world, Glenn. Thank you for passing this along! Good stuff!
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Hello Paul,
A good friend of mine, and yours, Glenn Myres, forwarded your message to me today. It was a delight, and a trip down memory lane, when you shared your experience with the small family-owned auto repair shop on Indianola Ave. in Clintonville, known as Payne’s Service.
Robert Payne Sr. started that business in 1955 and sold the business to his two sons in 1973. Bob Jr and Patrick continued the family business while Robert Sr. pursued a new career as an automotive vocational teacher at Walnut Ridge H.S.
Patrick remained a business partner until 1976 when he decided to pursue another career in the electrical construction industry as an apprentice, then journeyman, foreman, and estimator for 18yrs for the same electrical company.
Bob Jr. successfully continued the family business after Patrick left and hired a new mechanic, who happened to be one of Robert Sr’s students in his automotive vocational class at Walnut Ridge H.S. Jeff was a very gifted and talented student and became Bob Jr’s head mechanic at Payne’s Service.
When Bob Jr’s health failed, and he passed away in 2006, Jeff was now responsible for continuing the legacy of “service first” while working at Payne’s Service. Jeff was asked by Bob Jr’s widow, Susan, to supervise the team of mechanics since Bob Jr’s passing. It has been almost 18yrs since Bob Jr had passed away and Jeff is still at the helm leading the skilled mechanics at of Payne’s Service. One of the mechanics, Kenny Hall, was employed at Payne’s Service when Patrick was still there. The other mechanics, Brian and Jeremy make-up the final team of faithful auto repair staff at Payne’s. Susan, the owner, and Susan’s daughter-in-law, Tiffany, take care of the office duties.
Today, Glenn Myres sent me your thought for the day that brought back such good memories of a small business in Clintonville called Payne’s Service. That business, started by my dad, Bob Sr., and handed down to my brother Bob Jr. and myself, has transitioned into a successful automotive repair business lead by the head mechanic, Jeff which has served at least three generations of families in the Clintonville area, and beyond, since opening day in 1955.
Thank you, Paul, for sharing what a difference dedication and good service has provided to your family, and the whole community, from Payne’s Service. And, even more importantly, having faith and trust in a humble servant by the name Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who has taken away the sins of the world for those that believe wholeheartedly in His saving grace. If we follow His example of serving, helping others, and share His message of salvation to those we know or meet, we can surely experience the joy of serving a risen Savior.
Patrick Payne
John 15:15-17
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What a great story, Patrick. Thank you. I’m so glad you enjoyed this post and stopped by to fill us in a bit on the history of Payne’s. The current crew well carries the torch of your family’s wonderful legacy.
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