The question keeps returning…”Why? Why, Lord? Why did you allow that to happen?” You see, I believe God is all powerful, all-knowing, ever-present and full of compassion. So why would God allow such a tragic accident? A single-car accident (only theirs was involved) took the life of a vibrant young woman from our church, and her husband. Evidently, their truck lost control and hit the only tree to be seen on that Kansas road… head-on. This happened the day after they were married at the courthouse!
Now, I was regretting the past few times that I had missed my quiet times with the Lord. Instead of going directly to God, I was wandering through my house, refusing to meet with Him. I really needed to sit down and be still, to pray for answers. Instead, I was dragging my feet around in circles. My heart knew He was patiently waiting near my empty chairs. Two empty, red swivel armchairs faced the fireplace, or turned to look out the back door onto the sunny back porch. That was our usual meeting place, without a specified time, which was the problem. I needed Him, and He was near, but I hadn’t drawn near.
The enemy had been busy all morning, filling my thoughts with negativity, or side-tracking me with cooking and cleaning instead of surrendering to God. So of course, when I finally decided to walk towards the spot, I stepped into a puddle of water leaking from the dishwasher. Water was all over our fairly new dark hardwood floor. I swabbed that up and tried to sit down again, pushing away my worries about a broken dishwasher. I had only read one sentence before I spilled a full glass of water all over my books! Really, Lord? I stopped again, and mopped that up, too! That’s when I threw the towel in the sink and cried out loud, “Okay, I surrender!” God had my attention. I would be quiet and listen.
I sat down and opened a devotional. one that I open for a quick word. I decided to look at yesterday’s reading, or the one for August 7th, the day I learned of Bekah’s death. And God spoke. “Understanding will never bring you peace. That’s why I have instructed you to trust Me, not in your understanding.” Amen!
There were verses to look up. Proverbs 3:5-6; Romans 5:1; 2 Thessalonians 3:16. The devotional closed with a promise, “My Peace is not an elusive goal, hidden at the center of some complicated maze. Actually, you are always enveloped in Peace, which is inherent in My Presence. As you look to Me, you gain awareness of this precious Peace.” The writer of the devotional had taken the liberty to speak as if God was speaking… but it was what my heart needed… to draw near.
Reading in Romans, I found “we have access by faith into this grace by which we stand…..and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Trust in God. Have faith, experience peace. Yes, absolutely! Faith is something that I must hold onto. Faith is all I have that gives me the hope of glory. Faith is something Bekah shared daily in the way she lived. Because of her unwavering faith, even at her young age of 19, she will rest in glory, beside her husband, with the Lord in heaven forever. Faith is what she shared in her death, because God’s will was so apparent.
As I have said before in my blog, “With God’s grace, acceptance finds understanding”! But how? Only through faith. Faith gives us access to this grace! Faith allows us to accept the hard things, the solid answers to questions we ask God. Faith helps us to accept His answers, because we believe that God can only do what is good, and will do what He deems right for those he loves.
Jesus told his disciples, “In this world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” The next thing he said was “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You…” And then, Jesus was then arrested, betrayed, and crucified. But be of good cheer? Yes, that is what He told them! Cheer up, I have overcome! And He said this before he died for us!
Faith overcomes stuff like the accident, or anything that overwhelms us. Faith gives us the confidence to believe, and to hope for God’s answers. After having my quiet time, nothing had really changed, but my hope in God had, in effect, caused me to be lifted above the overwhelming flood of emotions. Through the grace of the Lord Jesus, I felt a saving grace from the overwhelming flood of tears! His grace poured out, like that glass of water, all over me.
My friend, that is the power of prayer, and the power of God’s grace. Only through His grace, will I hold onto the hope that gives me. Through His grace, I will experience peace. Psalm 71….Therefore, I will have hope.