“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble’.
Psalm 59:16

As we waited beside our broken-down car, Charles, the local with us, was able to hitchhike to the next village. He returned with a mechanic who patched the hole in the transmission, pumped new oil in and got it going. We were then able to limp some 100 kilometers to the nearest city, creeping over several mountain passes.

There we found a mechanic who took the transmission apart and pronounced it “terminally wounded.” We would have to order a new one from Germany. So, Charles took the three “orphans” along with his daughter and continued his journey to the East by bus. We got on another night bus and rode in the opposite direction, 12 hours back to the capital city, where I called Germany and ordered a rebuilt transmission.

When it came a week later, I had to go to the airport customs hall with the old transmission to get it. Since our car was an imported foreign one, in order to get any new parts shipped in, I had to surrender the old parts to customs.

Well, the customs man didn’t want to take the old transmission and instead wrote it into my passport, telling me that the next time we left the country by car I should take it with me. I wasn’t very happy with having to drag two transmissions with me to the bus stop and then home. But I wasn’t yet aware of what the Lord was doing with this. And you will find out his wonderful works in subsequent posts!

After visiting Germany years ago, we drove back to our Middle Eastern country from which we had been expelled. On the drive through Yugoslavia we had two “God sightings.” First, expecting to find plenty of gas stations around a major city, we saw a sign that said, “Next gas 50 kilometers,” but I knew from experience that there were only about 40 kilometers of gas left in my tank! Praising and pressing on,we came to a new gas station 42 kilometers later! Just in time!

Then as evening came, I was hoping, not really praying, for someone to follow on the dark, winding, narrow roads through the mountains. There were no lights, no center line, no guardrails and often fog, making it a difficult drive in the night. As I drove along at dusk, a car waiting beside the road pulled out in front of me and then led us for the next 500 kilometers through the night!

Just think about the wonders God worked to get us there at just the right moment to join our “escort,” who was an excellent driver and obviously knew the road well. Following him saved us much time and stress as we didn’t have to creep slowly along not sure where the next sharp curve would be!

And He followed up on that God sighting, as the following day we prepared to reentered our country, not sure what would happen, since we had been expelled. But there were no problems with customs: no one seemed to know that we had been expelled.

We then made the 13-hour drive to our city, where we received a very warm welcome from the little team we’d left behind. God’s goodness was clear to us all and we praised Him for it. I needed to remember this demonstration of His goodness and power in the events that would soon come.

Prayer: Father, always remind me of how you have helped me in the past so that I will immediately come to you in prayer in each fresh crisis and give you honor through trust and praise before any answer comes. Amen.”

picture from internet

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1

Written in 1980

Someone told me that we seldom learn anything once for all in the spiritual realm and I had just experienced this truth. Coming from the Middle East to Germany has been a shock culturally, and I have forgotten at times two important biblical principles.

First, that our “struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world…” (Ephesians 6:12). It is easy to see the people behind the slow bureaucracy here as the problem, instead of the spiritual forces using them!

Second, “…in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). This means seeing that delays are things God uses for good. When I forgot these two truths, I fell into the swamp of impatience and self-pity; but the Lord Jesus, in His magnificent patience and splendorous grace, set me back on the right thought paths.

He did this by bringing  Scripture to mind. I am ever grateful that the Lord had me memorize many passages, like  “Give thanks in all things.” (1 thes. 5:18) and “…run with endurance the race that is set before you, looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.”(Her. 12:1,2). This are high level thoughts,, ones that transform and I was very glad the Spirit brought them to mind.

Tomorrow, more on how the Lord worked things out.

“The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.” Psalm 121:5,6

Praise be to you, Lord, for your faithfulness: you are the God of goodness, the Lord of love, the Almighty One who gives your word and keeps it. I praise you for your being Elohim, the strong and faithful One. Whatever promises you give, you have the power to fulfill them and the faithfulness to do so.

I give you praise and honor and exaltation for you are the King of Glory.

You, Lord Jesus, are absolutely faithful—faithful to your righteousness, to your holiness and justice, to the right judgment of evil while causing mercy to triumph over justice. You will always follow through on who you are–the perfect, pure and powerful King, the Lord of all, Ruler of righteousness and Redeemer of your enemies.

You, Heavenly Father, being both perfectly righteous and love itself, are faithful in your hatred of sin, of evil, of anything contrary to your character. In such love, you provide the solution to the problem of evil.

In your righteousness, you judge sin, rebellion, and anything contrary to good; if you didn’t judge, you would not be righteously loving, for righteous, pure and perfect love cannot abide with anything that is tainted by unlove, by selfishness, pride and evil.

Help us to live in the light of you beautiful, gracious character, resting in the shadow of the great rock you are, no matter what comes. May we be glory givers today, praising you in and for all things

The outcome of our being expelled from the country.

In the next few days our plans changed often, for we did not know where to go from here. Again the Word gave wisdom; Psalm 86 says “In the day of my trouble I will call upon you for you will answer me.” The Lord knew this exit was coming and had prepared the way.

First He had sent a single German woman, Renate, to work with us, so while we are gone, she could stay with the little local boy living with us. Second, a couple who is exploring the possibility of working with us will stay in our apartment and help Renate. Third, a new couple on our team is willing to watch the two little local girls living with us. God has it in hand.

We were able to pack up, knowing that He would bring us back or send us elsewhere, whichever was better. We had no way to know which would happen. To hold what we value with an open hand means that the Lord can truly be our God and choose what He deems best, while we can rest in His wisdom and goodness. God always goes before, prepares, protects and guides. Our part is to trust and praise.

“Lord, help me to hold all that you’ve given me with an open hand, trusting you to give and take as you deem best. May my primary affection be for you, not for what you’ve given. Amen.”

As we prepared for our “expulsion journey,” I was worried about the dangerous, three day, arduous drive from our Middle Eastern country to Germany—we had come that way before and knew how difficult it was—and I had to constantly give it over to God.

While struggling with the situation, Psalm 121 came up in my daily reading. The last verse promises, “the LORD will watch over your going out and coming in, both now and forevermore.” He has declared that He will guide us through all circumstances, and this is exactly what I needed to hear at this point.

Looking back on it now, the whole trip was one long demonstration of God’s faithfulness. More about the trip and God’s faithfulness on Tuesday.

Picture of us 1n 1980