Hebrews 11: ”Now faith is the [a]substance of things hoped for, the [b]evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the [c]worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”
Six years ago today, my husband and I were back home in rural Illinois. That afternoon, my husband had to have dental surgery and we had stopped at a local pharmacy to fill his prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medicines. When we entered the pharmacy, a few lazy snow flakes were drifting down one by one. In the time it took to fill that prescription, a blizzard blew in! By the time we collected the drugs and came out, there was already a significant accumulation of snow and the visibility was steadily becoming worse! As a highly experienced driver who had lived in Wisconsin, Vermont, and other snowy places, I had confidence in myself; nevertheless, the twenty – mile drive back to our friends’ home where we were staying was a nightmare. As we were approaching a big right – angle curve, suddenly the Holy Spirit began screaming in my mind, “stay to the right! Stay to the right!” Moving as far to the right as I could without dropping a wheel off the pavement, I reduced my speed even further. I successfully made it past four on-coming vehicles, but suddenly a fifth car came barreling out of nowhere, striking the left front quarter of our car! The impact tore off the wheel and the fender and sent us spinning backwards into a shallow ditch. That ditch contained a number of signs as well as an LP gas pipeline connection and some ornamental fence; yet, God guided our vehicle so that we missed it all. Because we were so far to the right – hand side of the road, we were only struck a glancing blow and not hit head – on. Because we were both wearing seatbelts, our injuries were relatively minor. I tore muscles in my lower back and my husband cracked two ribs, but we could recover from these injuries as outpatients. Had the accident occurred a half mile closer to our destination, we would have shot down a steep embankment, striking trees and landing in a half – frozen stream. Our vehicle might have somersaulted. We could have died, had the accident happened at a different location. Later on, some friends asked us why God had allowed this incident to happen. We replied that we did not know but that we were willing to trust that God wanted us to remain in the U.S. an additional two months for some reason.
Faith trusts where it cannot see. By this point, Joseph and Mary are quietly living together as a couple, but they are still enduring public ridicule. It’s likely that the worst criticism may have come from the most religious people in town, those who felt that observing all the laws about dress, conduct, etc., somehow gave them a special dispensation to tear into their neighbors’ reputations. There are so many questions that will only be answered in heaven. Did Joseph and Mary try to tell their family and friends about their angelic visitors? After the first few times when those explanations were met with hooting and jeering, it’s possible that Joseph and Mary decided silent ostracism was preferable to public ridicule. Certainly, Joseph and Mary must have formed an unusually strong bond as a couple as they had to present a united front to all and sundry. And it is possible that this trying time of waiting also served to help emphatically cement their relationship. Later, God warned Joseph in a dream to take Mary and the baby to Egypt to escape Herod’s slaughter of infants. Would Mary have believed Joseph, had they not already suffered so much together?
Today you may feel stuck in a situation. Perhaps you have suffered a setback as we did in December 2013. You don’t understand why things aren’t working out for you and you are beginning to think that God plays favorites and that you are NOT one of them! But only God knows the end from the beginning. There is a slogan painted on buses and tro – tros’s here in Ghana that reads “No Condition is Permanent.” Today, God wants you to remember that tro – tro slogan. God is a good Father, and He is ordering your life. Look around you and see if there is something God has put into your situation that demands a response. Perhaps you wish to move because of a nasty neighbor. Does God want you to shower that neighbor with kindness? Perhaps you feel frustrated at work and long for a different job. Have you really prayed about it, or have you merely worried about it?
PRAYER: Father, today many of us are stuck in a time of waiting. Frankly, Lord, we don’t like where we are right now and we want changes, preferably yesterday! Lord, please help us to trust where we cannot see. We have asked you for more faith; help us to realize that faith only grows when we believe before we see results, not afterwards. Thank you that you are working things out, and that you can do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think. In the matchless Name of Jesus. Amen.
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