It's Almost As If He Hears Me

Last Friday was pretty close to a perfect day for me. I had a good and productive day in my business, followed by a beautiful drive to San Jose, a wonderful visit with some of my dearest friends, topped off by a great night of hockey shared with some special people.

During my 2 hour drive home, I was on the phone with a friend, sharing the fun details to my great day. At one point in the conversation, we were talking about how it seems that there are days like that sprinkled in among the rest of the days which can seem so challenging. In this context, I used a metaphor, which I'm prone to do. As I was driving, I noted that I was on a very smooth freeway surface. All I could hear was the hum of the engine as I chatted on the phone. But every now and then, I would come across a patch of road in which the asphalt was chewed up from road construction.

It then dawned on me that faith in Christ is like shock absorbers on a car. Shock absorbers dissipate the energy created by bumps and pits in the roadway. As I rolled on down the highway, in the cab of my car, I could barely feel the difference between the smooth asphalt and the construction areas. The shocks on my car significantly minimized the effects in the cab of my car, even with the inconsistent road quality. I wasn't being jostled about my car as I hit the rough surface. It was then that I confessed to my friend that while things were fairly smooth in my life, I wanted my faith in Christ to be such that even when I hit the rougher roads, I would remain consistent and not tossed about due to difficulties and uneven terrain.

Not one hour later, I arrived at home. I then checked my mail, in which I found something which felt like a large foreign object lying in the middle of the road as I sailed down the highway.

Really Lord? Putting me to the test already?

For a moment, I almost regretted making that statement to my friend. Then, I silently thanked God for the opportunity to put my faith in action so quickly. God doesn't delight in rocking our worlds. But when we mean business, He is eager to provide us opportunities to develop. My comment on the phone didn't lead to the unfortunate contents in my mail. Instead, God was speaking to my heart in that last hour of my trip, knowing full well what had been sitting in my mailbox for the past 12 hours.

Monday night in bible study, the pastor uttered this quote which reverberated in my heart, practically drowning out everything he said for the next 5 minutes.

God is more interested in my eternal well being than my temporal comfort.

I don't know how God is going to work out this latest complication, but I know He will. The pressure isn't on me. I can only do what I can do. Instead, I walk by faith, not sight. My faith makes the rough paths smooth. Instead of worry and fear, faith dissipates those negative instincts and replaces them with a blessed assurance. The human reality is the same because we're subject to time and space, but the supernatural reality is that the battle is already won. Eventually the time will come when it will be revealed.

In the meantime, I have more road to travel today. When reminders come of the uncertainties of life, when the road beneath me is chewed up and abrasive, my faith in God will change the natural inclination to worry and change it into praise.