Read:
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
I was on my way home on my Kinetic Honda after visiting my friend’s house late in the night. The air was cool; the road was narrow and stretching long. As usual my gearless scooter was puttering along the tar road. A while later I felt something wrong. I felt the scooter dragging. It felt like the tire was going flat and sure it was! My scooter tire was punctured. I got off my scooter and started pushing and I knew right there I had to push it all the way home in the dusty dark night. It was a lonely road. There were no houses around. The place wore a deserted look. I knew I was very far away from my house. I could not imagine I had to push my vehicle now all the way home. I managed pushing it some distance but pretty soon I was feeling very tired. My muscles were aching. My body was sweating. I could not push any further. I knew I could easily let frustration mess my mind at this point as I had no other way except to keep pushing. But something within me said, “God is with you”. I was at peace. I felt God was with me in the dark, lonely and tiring road. I felt an inward peace though externally I was tired. I thanked the Lord for whatever purpose he was allowing this for. It was not going to be easy as I was going to discover soon. Many times when we are alone, tired and suddenly find ourselves in a troubling situation we often tend to think it’s an attack from the evil one. We panic. We get scared. We start binding the evil in the name of Jesus. We easily give into the idea that every tough, hard situation is somehow orchestrated by the devil. But that is so far from the truth. God does allow situations in our life to prove his power on our behalf. We who are children of God are drawn in his palm. Over the years I have gone through so many experiences that overtime I have learnt to be at rest in Him. We can rest in the knowledge that God is our loving heavenly daddy! I have experienced His pattern of working in my life. Now, strengthened with my Lord’s presence I began to push my vehicle with greater confidence. It’s not easy pushing a vehicle when the tires are flat. It was exhausting as I kept pushing the scooter but I was thanking the Lord and kept talking to him. I was whispering to the Lord, “Lord, it’s ok, yes, I am tired, but it’s ok. You do what you want in this situation. Just give me some extra strength to keep moving” And on I went with my dialogue in my head with the Lord. After pushing for a while no one stopped to help me. When God has his way, he often does things in different ways which is beyond our knowledge. He has a greater plan to accomplish and the temporary inconveniences work for a greater good. My inner strength surged along with a deep assurance and for a while I forgot my tiredness. I was joyously breaking into a song as sweat drifted off my face. I sang, “No, never alone, no never alone, He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone.” I finally pushed to a place where I saw a hotel apartment and my heart leaped in joy. I pushed my scooter towards the gate and asked the security guard if I could park for the night and pick it up next day. But he was rude and not cooperative. I kept calm. I did not react. I again requested him to see if I could speak to the manager. Hesitantly he agreed and got the manager out. The young looking manager came towards me. He saw me helpless, tired and worn out. The sweat had my shirt stick to my body. I asked him if I could park my punctured scooter for the night. He looked at me and said, “Ok, you can park your vehicle for the night but you have to pick it up next morning.” I felt God had prepared this manager to help me. I did not know why. I felt God was in this. I asked him his name and he said, Joseph. With tears in my eyes I said, “Joseph, I am a man of God and I just want to tell you that the Lord is so pleased by your kindness and help. He will surely bless you.” He smiled. After parking the scooter I started walking back home. I could not get any bus or any means of transportation and I kept walking. A few walks later, God intervened to stop a moving van and the driver offered to give me a ride home. I got home and I was so bone tired I wanted to hit the bed. Deep down my heard I felt a great rest. I felt calm and a delight surround my soul. In the midst of a hassled night and was rest assured God had worked his plan, dozing off to a peaceful sleep. The next morning, I went to the hotel and picked up my vehicle. Before heading home I left behind a New Year greeting card with a message for the kind manager Joseph. After the day’s ministry when I came back home I checked my emails and lo and behold I saw a mail pop up from Joseph, the manager who helped me park my vehicle. Joseph wrote: “Pastor, you thought your scooter got punctured by accident. No, God had a plan. He brought you to me and that’s why you had to go through that hard experience in the night. I have been in deep pain and agony. I was in tears. I had nobody to share. I have been weeping and asking God for help. I was at the end of the road and the Lord saw my tears and sent you to me. Your coming was an answer to my prayers.” Joseph went on express his problems and I prayed with him. The situation turned into a huge blessing for Joseph ministering to him through prayers. I was profoundly moved by this experience. It made me realize that my scooter incident was a huge plan in God’s mind. He had allowed it to minister to another child of his in problem. The Lord saw that Joseph was in tough situation and needed help. He sent me there. Oh, what a privilege it is to be in the plan of God and to be used by him. Had I had called my other friends for help on the night of my scooter getting punctured I would have missed ministering to a child of God in a desperate need. Sometimes we have to go through hard situations for the Lord to accomplish his plan in our lives. Being in the work of God is not an easy thing. There is a price to pay. It is the way of the cross. Without a cross there is no crown. We should always be available to God for his use, and His eyes are searching to and fro throughout the earth looking for people who are available for him to use. There are many people who are in tears, broken, hurting and wounded in body and soul. We need to be the hands of God to reach out and touch them with the love of God.
comment by Keith Edwards:
There are times in our life that we can't figure out why in the world is God allowing me to go through this mess in my life. I have found also in my life that sometimes God allows us to experience side roads to help others in need. Jesus was always doing this. He was always reaching out to the hurting and to the broken. I want to encourage us to let the Lord take us on this journey with Him, and to hear His guiding voice, even if it is on a dark night with God.
Prayer:
Lord, we ask that you use us in a great way by hearing your voice. Guide us and direct us by your spirit, and allow us to extend your love to the hurting and those in need, Amen.
by Ravi Kapoor
No comments:
Post a Comment