Philippians 4:19 (ESV)
And my God will supply every need of yours according to
his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
There was a carpenter building some crates for the
clothes his church was sending to orphanages in China. On his way home, he
reached into his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone. When he
mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what had happened; the
glasses had slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen into one of the
crates, which he had nailed shut. His brand new glasses were heading for China!
The Great Depression was at its height and Grandpahe had
six children. He had spent $20 for those glasses that very morning. He was
really upset by the thought of having to buy another pair. "It's not
fair," he told God as he drove home in frustration. "I've been very
faithful in giving of my time and money to your work, and now this."
Months later, the director of the orphanage was on
furlough in the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that
supported him in China, so he came to speak one Sunday at the man’s small
church in Chicago.
The missionary began by thanking the people for their
faithfulness in supporting the orphanage. "But most of all," he said,
"I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, the
Communists had just swept through the orphanage, destroying everything,
including my glasses. I was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was
simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see
well, I experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were much in
prayer about this. Then your crates arrived. When my staff removed the covers,
they found a pair of glasses wedged between two blankets.
The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink
in. Then, still gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued: "Folks,
when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been custom made just
for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that."
The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses.
But the missionary surely must have confused their church with another, they
thought. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas. But
sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, an ordinary
carpenter realized the Master Carpenter had used him in an extraordinary way.
There are times we want to blame God instead of thanking
Him! Perhaps it is something we ought to try more often, "Thank you, God,
for not allowing my car to start this morning." He may have been saving
your life from a car accident. "Lord Jesus, thank you for letting me lose
my glasses; I'm sure they'll be put to good use or there is a lesson to be
learned."
Always look for the "perfect mistakes."
Dear Lord, help us to look at the good in things. Help us
to learn the lessons we can learn from the things that happen to us in life. In
the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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