A few days ago, we received in the mail the monthly newsletter of the Arden Road Baptist Church in Amarillo, Texas. As I was looking over it, the article on the back caught my attention and was such a good reminder that I thought that someone else might benefit from it, too. Here is an excerpt:

“As some of you might remember, there were survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Many of these were from just some little thing that happened to them on their way to work.

  • The head of a company survived because his son started kindergarten that day
  • One was alive since it was his turn to bring donuts
  • One was late because her alarm failed to go off
  • One was late due to a traffic jam on N.J. Turnpike
  • One spilled food on her clothes and had to change
  • One was late because his car would not start
  • One was late because she could not get a taxi
  • One was late due to a blister from wearing new shoes and had stopped to buy a band-aid”

That really impacted me. I can’t stand to be late, and often I get frustrated and irritable when things don’t go exactly the way I think they should work. However, seeing delays and aggravations in the light of these examples helps me to keep the right attitude about what God is doing in my life. Sometimes God chooses not to reveal why we got stuck in that slow traffic or why we can’t find the specific book that we’re looking for, but other times He does disclose His reasons. One of the most significant of those times in my life happened almost exactly one year ago, on August 6, 2008, when God blessed me in an amazing way through a frustration. Actually, it started a little bit before that, when I began shopping for a laptop computer.

When I first started looking for a laptop, I had no idea what kind I wanted. Then, some friends showed me theirs, and I liked it, so I started looking more in that direction. I picked one out, but was disappointed to discover that the limited edition I wanted was already discontinued, and that I’d be getting a different one. It was actually a slight downgrade from what I’d wanted, and I felt disappointed at first. However, it was still much better than what I needed, so I gave the whole situation to God and was satisfied, knowing that "This, too, was from His hand." Then I had a few problems with my password; again, it was not something that I wanted to thank the Lord for. I called technical support, and, long story short, God prompted me to witness to the girl I was talking to. Although I was reluctant and scared at first, God moved in an incredible way, and it turned out that she was already saved, but needing some encouragement at that time in her life, as her family was unsaved and very unsupportive of her decision to follow Christ. We had a wonderful conversation, and I think I was even more blessed than she was, because I was the one who had seen God work out a hassle for good! If I had gotten the computer I wanted originally, and if hadn’t been having trouble with the one I did get, I would not have called the computer company, I would not have talked to that girl, I would not have had the opportunity to share Christ, and I would not have met a dear sister in the Lord! God works in mysterious ways!!!!

So next time you run into an obstacle in your life that seems frustrating or insurmountable, give it to the Lord, pray for His peace to fill your heart, and then watch to see how He moves!

Psalm 25:4 – “Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 – “For my thought are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”