During and after the effects of Harvey and Irma, people helped people and strangers became neighbors. Good people did good things. God’s people did good things. Of course, this doesn’t diminish the reality of definite heartache.
In addition to noticing the good that people did during hard times, let’s notice the good God did. Yes, there was a tragic loss of life and property. Yet, God is a miracle worker. He was there with people as they faced dire circumstances. He is still there.
As a believer in God and as a believer in the holy Word of God, I know God is good. I choose to believe what the Bible teaches. Even when storms surge, God is good. Still good. Always good.
What if we looked for His goodness more intentionally? Let’s talk about His protection, how much worse things could have been, and all that did not go wrong. Let’s testify that God is strong, wise, and omnipotent. He is almighty and infinite in power.
Sometimes it’s hard to see God’s goodness in the midst of hard times.
Destruction. Fear. Danger.
Sometimes, we don’t take the time to notice. We’re not seeing what He’s doing. We might expect God to show up in one way. But when He doesn’t, we get disappointed and decide He wasn’t there for us. What if we had looked for other evidence?
God might prove His goodness in surprising ways. Listen to stories from friends and colleagues. Help them see God in their story. Enter into conversations with others trying to process all the damage. Let’s help them believe God was not surprised. He is still there.
The following story is one of my favorite examples of God being good in a surprising way that almost wasn’t recognized. There’s no evidence it’s true, but I could see how it could have been. I hope you enjoy it. I also hope it reminds you that God answers our prayers in His ways that are best. Let’s look for Him more in good times and bad. Then, let’s share what we see.
God Works in Mysterious Ways
During World War II, a U.S. Marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.
Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction.
Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves, and he would be killed.
As he waited, he prayed, “Lord, if it be Your will, please protect me. Whatever Your will is, though, I love You and trust You. Amen.”
After praying, he lay quietly, listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, “Well, I guess the Lord isn’t going to help me out of this one.” Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.
As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.
“Hah,” he thought. “What I need is a brick wall, and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor.”
As the enemy drew closer, he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while.
“Lord, forgive me,” prayed the young man. “I had forgotten that in You, a spider’s web is stronger than a brick wall.”
We All Forget at Times
We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget what God can work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. And remember with God, a mere spider’s web becomes a brick wall of protection.
Dr. Kathy Koch is the author of Screens & Teens: Connecting with Our Kids in A Wireless World.
This article originally appeared at drkathykoch.com.
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