AND THERE IS
HOPE! Once upon a time in a dimly
lit stable on a hillside in Bethlehem, the sound of a baby’s cry echoed into
the dark of the night. And the Star that
shone oe’r that humble birthplace lit up the world like never before! That baby’s cry was the precursor to the Hope
that the world was waiting for. God
looked down on His Son in infant form, and His voice echoed through the
corridors of heaven and reverberated in the chorus of the angelic announcement! And somehow I believe that God added a P.S.
to that profound pronouncement with His own flourish, like a gift-tag attached
to the manger: “ … and now there is Hope!” Yes, there is hope for this dark
world who so sorely needs a Savior!
AND THERE IS
HOPE! Writing this paragraph post-Christmas,
I can now share with you our Christmas evening epilogue that brought to us an unforgettable
experience as we traveled west to see family.
The conditions on the interstate changed from hours of rain-drenched
roads almost instantly as we drove into a dangerous blizzard of snow with high
winds gusting to 70 mph. We soon learned
that zero visibility was keeping us from seeing very accurately where the safety
of the road was. And growing up in one
of the Dakotas, I highly respect these raging winter storms that hide the
dangers that lurk in the deep ravines right off the edge of some of those countryside
areas in the middle of no where. It’s a
gripping reality that tells you that you have no power to see safety, and that
certain harm can be just a turn of the wheel away! I cried out to God for help and begged Him to
send angels to keep the car safely on the road that we could not see. When we knew we just had to stop and tried to
turn the car onto what we thought might be an exit, the car slid slowly off the
edge of the road and came to a safe, cushioned stop. I breathed a huge sigh of thanksgiving to God
over and over again! We were suddenly
stranded, but alive! And in that moment,
miracles began to ensue! In a place
where there is usually just hit and miss cell phone coverage, we were able to
make calls and never lost service! With
a quick call to AAA, we just knew they would send a rescue truck. Alas, their reply was, “We cannot send help;
no one can reach you due to the lack of visibility and high winds!” We received the same response from the
nearest chief of police through our son’s calls to reach out for help. And from the SD road department. “No one can come – we cannot get to you!” We began to put out calls to our entire
family and to our church family … asking for prayer! When we were assured that we had enough gas
to run the car all night if need be, we knew we could keep warm and would be
safe. As the calls zipped back and
forth, we welcomed the reassuring voices that promised prayers were being sent
Heavenward on our behalf! As the storm
raged around us and all we could see was blinding snow pummeling our windshield
at 50-70 mph, the presence of our God enveloped us in the midst of the
darkness. We literally felt
the prayers and the peace of God that washed over us. We could feel the angels standing guard. We were not alone! One of our young nieces, a state away, wrote
a prayer for us on a piece of paper. Wanting to “send it to God”, she opened
the door into their own winter storm only to have the paper blow right back
into her face several times – but she was undeterred - and finally it soared
heavenward! How that touched our
hearts!! And God gave us such hope for
rescue! Our minds raced back to earlier
in the day just before saying our farewells to our church family and beginning
our long drive. One of the ladies
invited everyone there to stand in a circle and hold hands so they could pray
for God’s hand to be upon us for a safe trip.
She said she felt such a strong leading to do so and had never felt that
way before. As we began our long vigil
in the night, we realized “why” she had been led to do what she did. Those prayers helped save our lives! To shorten a long story, the seven hours of
being stranded ended when two heroes in the night finally reached us at 12:30
in the morning. It was horrifying to
face into the storm for only the minute or two that it took us struggling to
stay on our feet to get from our car to the waiting truck. Our faces and hair were instantly drenched
with the moisture in the pelting snow as it hit our warm skin, and finally
sitting in that miracle truck, all we could do was thank them over and over, even
as we were thanking God! Then we asked
them, “HOW can you see where you are going?!”
To which one of them replied, “Well, we really can’t … this is one of
those ‘Jesus, take the wheel’ times!”
How we love that God has His people positioned all over the place ~ even
in the middle of “no where” in South Dakota! “ … and this was truly Hope experienced!” How we thank our God and all of you
who covered us with prayers of intercession!
God answered!! Hallelujah!
AND THERE IS
HOPE! Less than a week before
Christmas, a lady walked into my office at work, stating that she just had to tell me something that God was
telling her for us and for our church. I
barely know her, and she knows little about us OR the church we serve. Yet she proceeded to tell me that she has
been fasting and praying for us and our church, and she even has some of her
friends joining her in this directive from God.
She said that God sent her to tell us “that things are changing … to
wait and see how things will be moving upward!”
It’s a humbling experience that moves you at the core of your being when
you realize that God puts into place people that you do not even know, to
battle the forces of the enemy on your behalf – and on behalf of His
church! This prophetic word reverberated
soundly in my spirit when I realized it matched up and reaffirmed what God had
placed within my heart as I sought Him for the theme for Elevation North for
the new year: “ABUNDANCE FROM HEAVEN ~ in 2-0-1-7!”
As we move more and more towards God, His hand will rain down from His
heaven above, an abundance of spiritual blessings upon us in every way! Can you see it, dear ones … “and now there
remains the Hope that is promised!” The story goes on … the abundance has started
to fall! There is more to tell ~ another
time!
REMEMBER . . .
“REJOICE IN
HOPE,
BE PATIENT IN
TRIBULATION,
BE CONSTANT
IN PRAYER.”
~ Romans
12:12
Joyfully Serving Christ . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
