Men can plan, but the Lord is in control. This was the Swallow's constant thought when she was tasked with the challenge of coordinating the Children's Program for her church's special event last night.
The Swallow had often wondered what were Abraham's thoughts and feelings when the LORD God had told him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. What had then been in his heart when at the point he was prepared to obey, when "he stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son, the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!"" (Genesis 22 : 10 - 11a, NKJV)?
Was it, "What's next?" with an exasperation? The Swallow doesn't think so, for the Bible records, "So he said, "Here I am." Readiness. Waiting for the next direction. At rest.
And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son from Me." Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided." (Genesis 22 : 11b - 14, NKJV)
The weeks prior to the special event were challenging. The Swallow had no idea where to begin. There had been no such preceding event that she could refer to, but the Lord provided when fellow church workers, whom she had approached, gave ideas and help support, and finally, the day of the event arrived.
Three hours before the event, after a quick lunch, she and her family were still trying to get home from church. She was starting to feel a little anxious. Waiting in line behind a young man for a taxi for a very long time (where were the taxis?), then having an arriving taxi hijacked by another family who did not bother to check if anyone else was waiting for it, brought no respite to her anxiety. Crying out to the Lord for two taxis (the other for the young man in front of them who must have been feeling frustrated too), her heart was lifted when she saw not one, not two, but three empty taxis come by at the same time! The Lord will provide!
While working on the powerpoint slideshow presentation the night before, her computer had restarted itself many times and her work had not been saved in time. She had to redo the work, and save the newer material constantly after that. Working late into the night, she had wondered if the inserted short movie clips had caused her computer to auto-restart. The next morning, she had decided to remove the movie clips and replace them with more photos instead. Reaching home later in the day, the computer was then her goal. With a quick prayer for guidance, she removed the movie clips and did a run through. The slideshow reached the end without any hiccups. "That's good", was her grateful thought. Now to add the new photos. "That went well too, but the presentation was so boring. If I feel this way about it, how would the children feel?" became a nagging thought. A little background music would have made such a difference, but she didn't know how to add the music. She had tried unsuccessfully so many times the night before, but there was now not enough time to ask anyone else for help. Getting desperate, she could only cry to her Lord for help, again. Giving a last look at the task bar, she tried to add the music again. A while later, she did a final run through, and "Yes! The presentation was ready." Looking at the clock, she jumped. 4.15pm, and she had asked all the helpers to be back in church at 4.45pm! "Lord, if we are going to reach church in time, we will need to get a taxi really quickly." was her prayer. Waiting at the roadside, her heart was again lifted for she saw her Lord's faithfulness - two taxis! She reached church at exactly 4.45pm... The Lord will provide!
An sms came a short while later from one of the helper's wife. Her husband had been on his way to church but had to turn back as he was feeling feverish and achy. His young ones were also not well. Days before, a few other helpers had had to pull out as well as they were either helping in other areas of the event, or they had family commitments. The helper's wife had apologize for her husbands's last minute pull-out, but the Swallow, having experienced the Lord's providence several times within the last few hours, was confident that the Lord would provide, and reassured her. This event was for the Lord's glory. He will not fail them.
And it was so. Within minutes upon receiving the sms, several people had stepped forward and asked the Swallow if she needed help. Looking back, the number of people that had stepped forward at the last minute were more than those that had to pull out. The LORD will provide!
He is Jehovah Jireh, and He gives more than what His people ask for - in His name, for His glory!
