Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP)
Same-day Service
By humility, the authors wish to remain anonymous
Prepared by Thomas A. Carder
CAP President
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While attending a morning meeting at a Christian Academy, where each day they share devotions, one of the teachers shared this accounting of God's Grace with us. I was so moved that I asked her to write it down so we could share it with you. -TC- Sometime early 1997 Sometimes when we pray we have to wait for our answer. And then again, there are those times when the wait is very short. My husband is a seminary student. He has just completed his first year. About three months ago he was very depressed. He and I were talking on a Sunday afternoon, and he was telling me that this wasn't a normal depression; he felt that he was in the depths of despair. He said that he needed affirmation from God that he was doing the right thing with his life. I asked him if he had prayed differently from how he normally would. He said that he was asking for an audible word from the Lord. He said that he needed something extraordinary to let him know that he was on the right path. "Well, sweetie," I told him, "you know that the Lord doesn't usually work that way." He agreed but nonetheless stood firm with his request. That conversation took place at our seminary apartment at 4:00 in the afternoon. At 6:00 we were walking out of church from a discipleship training class. We had been very busy and had not had much time to spend with our two daughters. So, we had decided not to attend church that night and to have some family time. We went to our car and found that it wouldn't start. A deacon who had been patrolling the parking lot came over to ask if he could be of any assistance. About that time I saw a red car dive into the paring lot. A man (just ordinary looking) got our of the car and came over to where we all were. He said, "Looks like someone needs a word from the Lord." My husband and I exchanged shocked looks. the man went over to his car to look for some tools. My husband asked the deacon if the man was a church member. the deacon said no, not that he knew of, and he had been a church member there for a lot of years. He had never seen the man. The man returned to us. The deacon said, "Do I know you, brother?" The man replied, Yes, we've met. Right there at the foot of the Cross with your face in the dirt. By the shores of Galilee,..." He went on to mention other names of biblical places, but I wasn't able to listen closely to them. Well, the car was fixed, and we prepared to leave. My husband shook hands with the man and told him how much we appreciated his help. He said that he was glad he was able to help and "the word from the Lord" was Hebrews 10:35. We raced home to get our Bible and looked it up. The Living Bible says it best.
For the rest of the day and for many days after, we felt such peace. My husband has not been in the "depths of despair" since that day. He has good days and bad, of course, but we are encouraged that the lord will take us through whatever we have to go though, and we joyfully attempt to do His will daily. My husband was saved at the age of nine, but he strayed from the Lord for many years. We struggled through ten years of marriage, unequally yoked with me begging him to go to church and him saying no. I waited ten years for his heart to change. God's timing in answering our prayers is not always immediate. Sometimes it takes years. Sometimes it's only hours. He is faithful. Hebrews 10:35 has special meaning for us now, of course, and it always will. But Romans 8:38-39 has special meaning for all of us. "For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels won't, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God's love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are -- high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean -- nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of Lord demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us." (Living Bible) |