I started a Gratitude Journal as part of my 2o09 New Year Resolution. As I wrote in it yesterday, I was overwhelmed with gratefulness for the recent trip our family had the privilege to take to Asia. I am still reveling in the miracle of God's gracious act of moving the mountain to bring forth a way where there seemed to be no way in getting a new passport for our daughter, who discovered the night before that hers was expired.
The reason that this has made such an impact is that "it was our negligent mistake that the passport was expired." It was fully our fault that we didn't check to make sure that all the passports were current. But, this is where I am experiencing God's mercy in action.
I think that deep down many of us believe that God doesn't really care about our lives all that much, he is busy doing the work of running the universe and can't be bothered with our petty requests. I know that the response of some who were asked to pray was: "this was their screw -up, they will have to deal with it." It was our screw up, but that didn't matter to God and his involvement in our lives.
He loved us so much that he intervened with a passport agent who had every right to say no to Bill and Molly as they stood there first thing Monday morning without an appointment. He intervened in opening up a flight when days before we were told all the flights were full. He intervened by providing tickets that weren't over the top expensive, even being purchased the day before.
Mark 11:22-24 tells us that we can speak to a mountain and if we believe in our hearts that God will move it, it will move. My faith is increased after this experience, but even more, my sense of God's love for me and for our family is bigger because I saw how he cared for us...he cared. He was present, merciful, and generous.
My hope is that every one of us who follows Jesus will have stories like this one to share as we recognize that we follow a relational God who does care about "every hair on our head, and every desire that we carry."
The reason that this has made such an impact is that "it was our negligent mistake that the passport was expired." It was fully our fault that we didn't check to make sure that all the passports were current. But, this is where I am experiencing God's mercy in action.
I think that deep down many of us believe that God doesn't really care about our lives all that much, he is busy doing the work of running the universe and can't be bothered with our petty requests. I know that the response of some who were asked to pray was: "this was their screw -up, they will have to deal with it." It was our screw up, but that didn't matter to God and his involvement in our lives.
He loved us so much that he intervened with a passport agent who had every right to say no to Bill and Molly as they stood there first thing Monday morning without an appointment. He intervened in opening up a flight when days before we were told all the flights were full. He intervened by providing tickets that weren't over the top expensive, even being purchased the day before.
Mark 11:22-24 tells us that we can speak to a mountain and if we believe in our hearts that God will move it, it will move. My faith is increased after this experience, but even more, my sense of God's love for me and for our family is bigger because I saw how he cared for us...he cared. He was present, merciful, and generous.
My hope is that every one of us who follows Jesus will have stories like this one to share as we recognize that we follow a relational God who does care about "every hair on our head, and every desire that we carry."
2 comments:
I wish I could believe that God cares and commonly intervenes like that. I've heard some say that there are no coincidences in the life of a believer. The experiences of which you write are indeed worthy of gratitude. But if a nonbeliever had the same experiences with the passport and airfare, would God still get the credit because He's the Father of all good things? I've certainly seen nonbelievers experience amazing good fortune and I have also seen dear believers experience terrible grief, like one friend whose teenager is a heroin addict, and another whose 15-year old is living on the street somewhere. They can't find him. They're good Covenanters, and raised him to love the Lord.
A dear friend died a year ago after fighting stage four liver cancer for 18 months. The miracles were that he lived three times as long as the doctors initially predicted, and that he faced the whole ideal with a beautiful, inspiring faith and tremendous courage. Literally thousands of people prayed for him around the world. He died leaving behind a wonderful wife and two teenage sons. Even though I had the standard theological answers to the problem of pain, that was the straw that almost destroyed my faith.
Forgive me for rambling on. I write wishing that I could believe again as you do.
May God work in and through you and Mission Lux in powerful, beautiful, and totally unexpected ways. May your ministry be used to help people come to walk and rejoice in the love of the mysterious, untamed, triune God.
HI Gary,
Thanks for your insightful and honest comments. I think that the things that you mentioned are some of the greatest struggles we have because "faith is believing in that which we cannot see."
God is totally working in you, it's obvious, and the fact that your love for your friend and the crisis of faith that it brought is because God's heart is in you. His love was in you for your friend and his family.
Many blessings to you.
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