I am writing this to share a testimony. On Sunday morning I was travelling back from Mobile to Montgomery. I left Mobile at 5:30am to ensure that I got back in time to teach Sunday School. I hadn't made plans to be absent, I did not notify the superintendent that I wouldn't be there and I even cut my time with my family short so that I could prepare my lesson.
I have been teaching about Paul's journey to Rome (Read Acts 22 through 28 to get the big picture) and how he encountered so much opposition in his quest to get there. He was beaten, he was tried by the Jerusalem council, tried by Felix the Governor, Agrippa the King, shipwrecked, snakebitten and finally he got a chance to get to Rome- although the bible never records that he spoke to Caesar, he did get a chance to preach freely although he was under house arrest. There is are several underlying currents to this story: 1. God's plan is totally unstoppable 2. God's grace is totally unlimited and 3. Although we are all endowed with a mission from God, we do not know what they journey will be like to carry that mission out.
So, with that lesson in mind, I will finish my story about the trip. My daughter was sound asleep in the back seat, my gospel music was sounding sweet and all of a sudden, about 80 miles into the trip...traffic came to a complete stop! I looked at my watch and it was about 7am. Traffic was so bad that people were getting out of their cars and jogging over to the rest area to relieve themselves and walking back to find their cars in the exact same place. One guy's truck's battery went dead and he got a jump off right there in front of me! I called my wife and I am on the verge of spazzing out because Sunday School started at 9am and I wanted to go home, change clothes and then go back to church. The time ticked and we moved up enough for me to see some red flashing lights on the horizon. Obviously there had been an accident and I am thinking now, "I am not going to make it to Sunday School." I send the superintendent a text message and asked her to pray that the lanes on the road would open up.
At about 8:00 am, traffic finally started moving. I passed the rest area and saw cars lined up trying to get back onto the interstate. I was roughly 86 miles from my exit with one hour to get there and I was not about to be the "courteous" driver and let 10 cars come over in front of me. The miraculous thing was this, as I drove up, those emergency vehicles that were on the horizon were absolutely gone! It was as if they vanished into thin air. Because I commute about 100 miles round trip every day to work and I have seen a ton of accidents on the road, I know that it takes WAY longer than one hour to clean up an accident. Traffic was backed up for at least two miles and all of a sudden, the lights were no longer flashing and we were driving along...and as I picked up speed, I noticed that I was not slowing down or having to use my brakes because everything was moving very smoothly. Where did the emergency vehicles go? Where did the accident go? What happened?
I am a firm believer that IF God has a message for even one person, that nothing is going to stop that. The bible says in Isaiah 43:13 that when God acts, no one or no thing can reverse it. I am in no way trying to say that I am so special or that someone else couldn't have taught the lesson but I simply want to give thanks to God for getting me to my destination safely and for opening up a situation that was stagnant and threatening to keep me stranded on the highway. God's grace is sufficient, even in spite of our doubts. I was doubting that I would make it on time. Although I was about 10 minutes late, I did get there, I did teach the lesson and I do believe that God was glorified.
Here is the take home message, do not doubt God when things look bleak or things look as if they won't work out. The bible says that God works all things together for good for those that love the Lord and that are called according to His purpose. I learned a valuable lesson sitting there on the interstate, never doubt, never fear because God is awesome and whatever God has prepared for us, He is faithful and will deliver it. I know that it is human to doubt but faith is divine and faith comes from God! Whenever we walk in faith, we please God. Some of you are facing some situations were you are stranded on the interstate with an assignment in front of you...let me encourage you to remember that once God acts, no one can reverse it. Once God says go, once He flips the on switch, there is no one that turn it off. Continue in grace and peace.
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