Back in good-old ahs days, while I was still a rebellious-irritating-obnoxious gangster, one story in the daily morning devotion caught my attention.
So, there was this man. His village was flooding, so he climbed all the way up to his roof to avoid getting drowned.
After climbing to his roof successfully, he sat there and prayed.
His prayer goes like this, “Dear God, I pray that You’d save me out of this flood. I really don’t wana die. God, please help me. You command the Heavens and Earth. All the powers is in Your hands. Please help Your child here, I really want to get out of here safe. I commit myself into Your hands, in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
So he seek and prayed earnestly, waiting for help from God to arrive.
In about half an hour, a civil defence came, the captain was like, “Hey dude, we’re here for you, come on, let’s go!”
But the man replied, “Oh nono, I’m waiting for God to come and rescue me. It’s okay. I believe He will come, so you guys can go ahead. (: ”
^.- must be the look on the captain’s face. He tried to persuade him, but obviously, being so faith-filled the man-in-need refused.
As the time went by, the water level got higher and higher, and of course things got rougher and rougher.. and of course, he’s getting nearer and nearer to… death.
After one hour, some navy unit came. They said the same thing. “Hey bro, we’re here for you, let’s go before things get uncontrollable.”
Then again, the man-in-need replied, “It’s okay, my God is coming for me, I’m gonna be fine. Thanks so much, you guys better go!”
HUH?!?!?!?!??! Okay, man-in-need refused to be moved even after much persuasion. So the navy unit left.
By this time, the waters are getting real close to the roof. It’s probably now or never. So another unit of people came to extend their rescue. This time round, they came in the helicopter. They were like, DUDE YOU GOTTA MOVE BEFORE YOU BECOME A NEMOOOOOOOOOOOO. Like now!??!?!?!?!
Man-in-need aka dude looks around, oh yeah, the waters getting near me. And there’s probably nowhere out from here other than this people now. What do I do!??!?! He thinks and ponders and wonders.
In the end, he said. IT’S OKAY. MY GOD IS COMING TO SAVE ME VERY SOON. DON’T WORRY!
WHAT?!?! EVERYBODY ELSE ON THE HELICOPTER WAS SCREAMING AND SHOUTING. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING OF!?!?! THIS IS NOW. THIS IS THE TIME..
Obviously, nothing goes in man-in-need.
Then the water raged, and the whole village felt like it was sinking into the sea. And you guys should be able to see the end of the story. The man-in-need drowned.
Sometimes, it’s not that God didn’t send us help. But He sent us help in many many different ways. And through many many different people. It’s up to us to take their hand, it’s up to us to just let them pass by.
All the time, it’s us, the human mind, that is so fixed upon how God is gonna help us. We have faith, but not faith in Him, but faith that He will do this and this because of how we feel, because of how we perceive things. But, come to think of it, how do we really know how God works? How do we really know what is gonna happen?! How do we really know that this is the way to go?
But because of our desire, because of our perception, because of the way we want things to turn out in the end, we kept rejecting His plan for us along the way. Oh nono, not the civil defence, there must be a greater unit coming by. Oh nono, not the NDU, and of course not the helicopter. I mean, God is saving ME?!?! He should be sending down clouds and fire, like how He calmed the storm in front of the disciples in the bible right?!?! I mean, after all it happened before, and it’s in the bible right RIGHT RIGHT?!
Oh wells, sometimes we let our hearts boxed God up. How He gonna handle things, how things are gonna change in our lives. We always say we let go, we let God take control. Never say you did, until you’re really prepared for anything. Anything. Those things that you’re planning in your head, it’s time to let them go. With them inside, and with you always re-running them in your head, that’s not letting go. It’s hard I know. It’s so much easier to plan what you desire to happen, it’s so much better to dream, than to come back down to reality and tell God. I LET GO.
Don’t fix how God can change your life. And life, I mean, this very moment. Don’t force God’s plans unto the plans you have in your head. It’s not fair, to you, to me, to her, to him, and especially to God. Nothing is for certain in this world, only God. The living God. If you really think the civil defence is not for you, the navy unit is not for you, pray first! Get an answer from God first. If not, you’d find yourself rejecting God. Worse, landing yourself in even greater risk and trouble. Having faith is good, having dreams is good. But note that, God is good. Faith shouldn’t be blind faith, dreams should lead you even nearer to Him. Ask for an answer. Pray and seek. Don’t just go by your feelings. Seriously, we’ll never know.
Just like the song goes, ‘And it’s sad when you know it’s your heart you can’t trust.’
Yeah. Sad, but hell true. I admit I do let my emotions take control sometimes, and make mistakes, silly mistakes. So today, I let go. It’s not easy. But God, here I am.
And this is what I’m gonna do.
Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
This is an uncertain world, I know. And it’s even more challenging not to trust whatever that you have, your feelings, your thoughts. I totally can identify. But know that…..
1 John 3:19-20 (New International Version)
19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
1 John 3:19-20 (New Living Translation)
19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.
The last thing you want to do is to realize that you’re drowning, and you’ve missed God’s help in previous occasions. JIAYOU you. I’m not a pro in this yet, but ohwells we all learn. And the thing we can be ever thankful for is that, God’s help will never cease. Even if this is the 29919292910919th try. Just that, maybe it’s a different person helping you now, it’s a different method, it’s a different outcome. Let go, let God.