Stronger Against The Wind

What is this fire that grows stronger against the wind?

What kind of flame can this be?

There is no greater love than this

There is no greater gift that can ever be given

To be willing to die so another might live

There is no greater love than this

That love is the love that God has given us through Christ Jesus, and it is a love I have undeservedly experienced in the weeks since my last entry. The Lord is most overtly powerful in our lives when we are openly weak. October and the end of September have been one unending sprint of class projects, work emergencies, and the blessed straw on top of it all of petitioning the body of Christ for support on my upcoming mission trip to India (78 days from now). And I didn't misuse "sprint", though I spoke of more than three weeks -- God's grace has sustained me through very little sleep and the stresses of group projects, etc. It's all been Him, because I've been here before and fallen flat on my face by self-reliance.

This month has seen many manifestations of God working, but four specifically that I'll mention here. First, this trip to India is a totally new and challenging experience for me. By nature, I am independent and happy to feel depended upon and to support others, but I shy away from having to depend myself on other people. Of course that's not at all the model God set forth in the church, but that's my fleshly default. "Sending" has been a safe haven of that independency (new word), but "going" will have nothing of it. I have been humbled by the way the Lord has crossed my path with others, some I didn't even know were believers (at work). And the readiness with which He has stirred up hearts in prayer and giving sweeps the footing out from under my pride and independence. Of course, as another missionary currently in field told me today in an e-mail, God doesn't need me to go in order to accomplish His will and purpose, but He graciously chooses to involve me in the generation of His glory, for which I am eternally grateful.

Second, last Friday night, I was working late and took a break to run and grab some take-out from Panda Express. When I arrived, they were out of Orange Chicken, so I stepped aside to wait the obligatory eight minutes for it to cook. A few minutes into that queue, a middle-aged African-American guy walks into the restaurant. He looked pretty poor, such that I wasn't sure whether he was homeless or something close. Anyways, he was having trouble understanding what he was allowed to get in a 2-Entree dinner and I overheard him ask what he could get for six dollars, because that was all he had. The problem with "six dollars" is that a 2-Entree dinner costs $6.22 with tax. So I pulled a dollar out and walked up to him to explain that it would cost more than what he had to get a decent meal and handed him the dollar. Being a veteran Panda Express patron, I also let him know what he could get in the dinner, since he was getting frustrated trying to figure it out. Long story short, the Lord opened up a solid ten minute conversation about the reason for helping him out, etc. Pope (the man's name) claimed to be a Christian and had pretty good grasp on the Scriptures, so hopefully he is a brother as he claimed. Otherwise, I pray the Lord would continue to work in his life to save him. Nothing happens without God's orchestration and this was simply another unexpected example of His hand moving.

Third and less certain, I tried to go to Dunkin Donuts last night on the way home from class, because on Mondays this month, they are giving away a free medium coffee. I'd gone to this particular Dunkin Donuts at 11pm before and saw that it was open 24 hours, so I didn't think anything of going at 10pm. When I pulled up to the driveway, no one answered immediately so I perused the menu. Then I heard a knocking on car hood and looked up to see a man standing there. My first reaction was to lock the doors, because I wasn't exactly in a safe spot and no one was around. The man went to my passenger window and pleaded for a few dollars to buy a gas can [reason/story omitted]. I think I had seen him on his cell phone walking around the Jack-In-The-Box parking lot next door, but I was skeptical -- how could I know whether it was a scam? But I gave him what he asked for anyways. Unfortunately I wasn't prepared as I should have been and Lord-willing will be next time, so all I was able to tell him was that I was a Christian. He replied that he was, too (again, God knows...), but perhaps even if it was a scam, the Lord will use what to me was a wrong place, wrong time situation for His glory. After the man left, I pulled around to drive-thru window to read that the hours were now 5am to 10pm (it was 10:05pm), so the only transaction that occurred was between me and that man. Lord, please use it for Your glory.

Fourth and most simply, today was simply beautiful. I was off from work in order to do class project work, so I was able to drive around and bask in the Lord's creation. How marvelous is His work! "The heavens declare the glory of God..." (Psalm 19).

All of this has been written to exalt God. If any of it pointed to me (as I'm afraid my feeble words may have), then I failed, because it was all Him. Only His love "grows stronger against the wind".

(Lead italics and concluding quote from Steven Curtis Chapman's "No Greater Love")