“Many people say, “Who will show us better times?” Let your face smile on us, Lord. You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.”
Psalms 4:6-8 (NLT)
It was my third trip to Haiti and I had never had trouble with my bags. But this time it was lost. The panic set in at the airport when not only could I not communicate effectively at the baggage claim, but also that I was in a country where I couldn’t just go to Walmart to pick up a few things until my bags arrived. I was stuck with just the clothes on my back and at the mercy of the airlines and the mission. (I was a also stuck with a hard lesson to at least carry an extra pair of underwear and a toothbrush in my carry on).
Later that night, I was given the news that my bags wouldn’t be there until day after next. Not quite the news I was expecting, especially since the mission only keeps items that were left behind and most of those are donated to the community. So, I had to make the choice to make the best of it.
As I prayed for that miracle of somehow my bags just appearing on a random flight, God brought me another hard lesson – that he wasn’t my Mr. Fix-It. But He also brought me His promise of joy and peace – even through my dirty underwear, my stinky underarms, and my unbrushed teeth. He quickly reminded me of my mission, and that it didn’t depend on clean underwear, but rather His provision. And more importantly, as I pondered through the night, He was giving me a way to better recognize the everyday struggles of those who I was serving.
The people of Haiti often times don’t even have underwear. If they have a toothbrush, they don’t have clean water to use it with. And deodorant is the farthest from their minds! At least I had a cold shower, while many of the people in the village took their baths in the dirty aqueduct or river.
God showed me in those three days that those were actually the “better times” of my trips. Because in those hours of waiting for clean clothes, God brought me the greater joy of His splendor. He showed me His smile as I peacefully slept and humbly had to walk out the door with the same underwear I had worn for 3 days. And He showed me the miracle of His greater purpose when I took my eyes off of me and put them back on Him.
What I learned is that sometimes we expect God to be our Mr. Fix-it guy. We want Him to fix it so we can be more comfortable. But He wants to fix it in a way that will be more meaningful.
God promises to be with us in every circumstance. And in every circumstance, we can find joy! But we have be willing to see the miracles of the unseen blessings. They don’t always come as we expect. But we can expect that they will always come!
How can you find greater purpose in what you are experiencing today? Ask God to not just fix your problem, but to help you trust Him so that you can find greater meaning in the midst of it.
#SaturdaySoulSearch
