Connecting Points

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Today’s Topic:  That’s What Faith Can Do

Today’s Text:  Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?   (Isaiah 2:22)

Just when we get all excited about a new possibility inevitably something happens that has the potential to throw us into a fit of frustration. These are the tests designed by God to answer this question: In whom do you really trust?

I have permission to share this story. One of our church members and his wife are in the process of adopting a baby boy from Ethiopia. On Friday of last week they had their home visit from the adoption agency, and everything was in perfect order. All they had to do was come up with the next payment of $1200 to keep the process moving. They were so very excited.

On Saturday, as they visited a friend, something went wrong with their handicapped accessible van that they need for the transportation of their son. After extensive investigation into all the “symptoms” Jordan was convinced he had blown a head gasket…on the vehicle. He didn’t blow his. The cost to repair? You guessed it. $1200. Jordan admitted to me on Sunday morning that this was a test. He had already decided to trust God, but it was hard because now he would have to rearrange all his finances to make both the car repair and the adoption happen. But he was resisting taking this into his own hands and moving ahead in his own wisdom. He really wanted to see how God would handle this.

This morning I received this email from Jordan. Get the Kleenex ready.

Well, apparently we must have passed the test! I received a phone call from Scott Soden yesterday and he informed me that it seems to be only the water pump and NOT the head gasket. PRAISE THE LORD!!!

I truly believe, following along with your sermon, that we all have to go through tests day to day in order to strengthen our faith. Last Saturday, when I thought the head gasket had blown; all the elements would have indicated this to be true. Coolant on the ground (check), low coolant level (check), too hot of an engine (check) and the oil was even too full (almost three times too full) with an “orange-ish” tint to it, indicating coolant in the oil (CHECK)… I checked and re-checked the oil to make sure I wasn’t missing something. The van had been sitting close to an hour, so there is no way the oil could still be 2-3 times too high on the dipstick, right? Another man there even took a look and confirmed that it seemed like there was coolant in the oil.

Like I said, I believe this was a test. I don’t think I aced the test, but I do believe I passed it. There are certainly areas of the day that I have been reflecting on that I could have acted out differently. All in all, though, I was surprised at how much peace I had come over me through the whole ordeal. Initially it was going to cost every penny we had in our adoption fund, but God had a plan. “Conveniently” I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I run fully synthetic oil in the van and that when the synthetic oil is extremely hot, it looks differently than regular oil and carries an “orange-ish” color. This led me to believe there was coolant in the oil, which would indicate issues with the head. “Conveniently” it was really hot out, which prevented the engine from cooling down quickly and what kept the oil too full.

In the past this would have been devastating news, but God was there with me. Instantly the thought “everything will be fine, God will provide.” kept going through my head; and I BELIEVED IT. I knew God has a plan and that all would be just fine. I just didn’t realize His plan would be so great, I should have, but I am only human. It will not be costing us every penny of the adoption fund. In fact, we won’t even have to touch this money! It will only cost 1/6th of what I initially thought!

SO, I guess I just wanted to pass along this wonderful PRAISE offering to our Lord. The power of faith and prayer is truly amazing. I just want to thank the Lord for providing our every need, even before we know what it is.

Humbly HIS,

 – Jordan 

Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he? (Isaiah 2:22)

Pastor John