Through Many Hardships, Foils and Scares

Do I still think God is good? Do I still praise Him even when my power wheelchair gives up the ghost in the middle of a nearly depleted parking lot because the stores have closed, and it’s night and the temperature is dropping and I can’t reach my hat and gloves just three feet away? And now sleet is beginning to pelt me. And I’m out of town–all alone–and don’t know who to call. Is He still good?

Is God still good to me then?

O yes, He cares!
I know He cares!
His heart is touched with my grief.
When the days are weary, and the long nights dreary
I know my Savior cares!*

It’s true. All that “bad” stuff happened to me tonight–within minutes of posting this on a couple of social media sites:

When we go through the fire, there are two blessed truths that hold us steady: (1) God is OVER it, and (2) He will bring us THROUGH it.

That status/tweet came on the heels of this little gem:

The “all things” we have in Christ for life and godliness cover and combat the “all things” that come against us. 2Pt 1:3; Rom 8:28,37

You could say that I asked for it because faith that has not been tested cannot be trusted. Hmmm, another tweet? Confessing something is not good enough. That confession may be true in principle and theory but God knows that maturity comes when our hypotheticals become incarnational. Then, it is not merely a doctrine but a living reality; it is not only learned, it is owned.

The life of disability can be the most helpless, humiliating and debilitating script to follow but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It keeps me in a constant place of dependence, a perpetual confession of utter need, and robust faith in its Author and Finisher.

So there I sat–in a dead wheelchair in a sleet storm, at night, by myself–and, by His empowering grace alone, willed myself to baffle the realm of satan’s nefarious kingdom by praising, singing, trusting, believing, praying and putting shoes on my confession. I thanked my God that He was working out His perfect plan and that whatever was going to come out of this mess was going to be breathtakingly special. And eternal.

I’m home tonight, safe and warm in my bed, as I write this. That means my Rescuer came through mightily. Once again. One of these days I’ll tell you how He did it. It’s pretty cool.

Many are the afflictions/trials/heartaches/weaknesses/hardships/foils/scares of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:19

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*Does Jesus Care? by Frank E. Graeff. Full text is here, and worth a look.