A year ago, I wrote one of the most disappointing blogs in my life. We had planned to travel to Durban, South Africa, but only made it to Newark, New Jersey. After hours upon hours in the airport and countless delays, we decided to cancel the trip and head home. In that post, I wrote, “Why the delays? To this day, I still don't have the answer to that question. I'm not sure I will get it on this side of Heaven.” God was gracious and gave me an answer.
Last year, I was filled with anxiety over the trip. I chalked it up to nerves about international travel. This year was completely different. From the first to the last flight, I have felt peace. God was going to see us through to the end. And He has. Like I said last time, I didn’t know why God delayed the trip. But we got a part of the reason this week.
One of the girls that attended the Bible Club was named Divine. She is sweet, quiet, humble, and always willing to help. Most of all, Divine was incredibly attentive to each lesson. She was soaking it all in. At the end of the week, we opened an invitation for anyone who wanted to talk more about following Jesus. Divine pulled Susan aside and told her her story.
Divine told us she is a Christian. She told us how she struggled to do what is right. She feels like she is being pulled in two directions. We were able to talk with her about it and encouraged her to read Psalm 23. This is when we learned that her dad has the only Bible in their home. It is a New Testament only. He doesn’t like for anyone else to touch it. I was able to give her my Bible and she was thrilled to receive it.
This may not seem like a big deal to you, but let me point out two of the pieces to the divine puzzle that God was putting together.
1 ) Divine was not a part of the missionaries’ church. She had never been there until that Sunday morning. Had we come last year, we would have never met her.
2 ) I bought the Bible I gave her last year and I had not been bringing it to the Bible Clubs. However, I did bring it on that day because I was leading a lesson.
Friend, if you’ve faced delays, God is at work. Like 1 Peter 5:6 says, God works “at the proper time.” You can trust His timing, even if you don’t understand it. John Piper is certainly right when he says, “God is always doing a thousand things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” I am blessed to be aware of one of the many things God was doing by delaying our trip. I praise God for this Divine appointment.
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