I often wonder why an Almighty, Holy, and Sovereign God is concerned about my needs. Who am I? I know Jesus said that we are not to be anxious about food or clothes, and that He provides for the ravens and we are of much more value than them ( Luke 12:24). But why does He provide so many times and is so faithful to do so? Now, I know it is because of who He is. And I know that He does not change, and because of this, whatever He has promised we can trust that He will do. But, in light of who He is and who we are, if God did not answer one more prayer, or provide one more thing, He would still be worthy of worship. It is thinking of all this that leaves me so in awe of Him. There is nothing special or worthy about me or anyone else, it’s just who He is. It’s all grace. Which makes His blessings and answered prayers that much more beyond my understanding.
O LORD, what is man that you regard him…- Psalm 44:3
Yesterday we left our good friends in Tennessee to head to North Carolina unaware of what had taken place in a town on the way to our destination. We traveled through part of Virginia where we saw lots of snow and ice. It was quite beautiful as we came down the mountain. The farther we traveled, the more of it we saw. Finally it was about time to get off the interstate and gas up. We made it to the town of Greensboro in North Carolina where we made our way to the only gas station near that exit. The ice was really thick and there were trees down everywhere in this town. When we got to the gas station, it was closed. So we got back on the interstate and got off on the next exit. As we pull up to the next gas station, we see see that it is also closed and the pumps were taped off. What we didn’t know is that Greensboro experienced a severe ice storm the night before that crippled the whole city that next day. At this point, we needed to get gas really soon or would be stranded and there were only two people in sight.
There was a man in the parking lot speaking to a woman, so we pulled up and asked him for help. I just so happens that this man was an undercover police officer. We told him that we were from out of town and needed gas soon and asked if there were any gas stations at the next exit. He said that if we got back on, that there would not be any for miles! He told us to follow him and that he would make sure we found gas and he would get us back on our way. He took us all through town from gas station to gas station hopping in and out of his own vehicle asking store employees, but they were either closed or had run out. There didn’t seem to be gas anywhere! By this time the low fuel light was on, and after about six gas stations I was getting a little nervous. Finally, he brought us to a gas station that had fuel, praise God! After waiting in line for a while, we filled that baby up.
So while we were there, and after a few hours in the car, it was time for a bathroom break. The only thing was that this particular place did not have a public restroom. The officer (who waited for us the entire time), then took us to the police station (that was closed and dark?) and he let the whole family in to the station to use the restroom. At this point I am thinking, is this guy a cop or some kind of angel sent by God!? After telling this man how extremely grateful we were for all of his help, he had us follow him and got us back on the road we needed to be on. We were running late, but still made it to where we were going.
Was it the end of the world if we ran out of gas, no. Worst case scenario, we would have camped out in the van overnight or some friends from the church in the town we were going to would probably have come to help us. But I believe God is absolutely Sovereign and that there are no coincidences. In His great love and care for us, He had us stop at that place at that time where God had that man there to help us. Why, because He wanted to. Who are we that we are the object of such love? What is man that God is mindful of him? Nothing. He loves because it is who He is, but He gives it by grace, we don’t deserve it. And even if He never gave another blessing or answered another prayer, God’s love can never be questioned. We only have to look at the cross. He is worthy of our worship. Pray.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,- Ephesians 1:7