From EDIFIED

“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” Psalm 50:14,15

A big problem appears on my radar screen. I ask God for help. He sends me another problem. He then uses the second problem to solve the first. This is a pattern: the important question for me is, will I trust Him in this process?

We’ve been having problems with our van for the last two years (1996-98): among other things, it quits periodically on the road. Usually it starts again after a rest, but in January as we were driving to Reading on a dark, frigid Sunday night, it lost all power and slowed to a crawl. PTL, we had just joined AAA two days before, so were towed the last 80 miles without extra charge. And the next day the van worked fine! The mechanic could find nothing wrong with it. This was perplexing.

We prayed with friends for a solution. Then my computer began having similar serious problems, slowing to a crawl. Fortunately there is a computer expert in the office who is very willing to help in such situations. As I was chatting with him about the computer, I mentioned my troubles with the van, and he gave me the name of his mechanic, whom I called. He was willing to take me the next day, diagnosed the problem and solved it (needed a new fuel pump).

Now both my computer and van are working just fine—to God’s credit. He is wonderful and worthy of praise. The question is, in the next difficulty will I praise Him before the answer comes? And when He sends another problem which He intends to use to solve the first one? I want to respond in line with our oft-mentioned verse, “He who offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me and prepares the way that I may show him the salvation of the Lord” (Ps. 50:23).

Prayer: “Lord, your ways are so different than mine. Help me to trust you when things seem to go from bad to worse, knowing that you are far wiser than I am. May you be glorified by my giving thanks when I don’t feel like it today. Amen.”

Barbara celebrating her recent birthday