The other day I was in Athens, Ohio hanging with a friend
of mine who runs a dynamic ministry to the rural poor near
the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. I had just
finished playing Frisbee with the staff-members when I got
a phone call from my wife telling me that we got an offer
on our house and that we had to sign the papers the next
day—and not a day later. Selling our house was the one
obstacle getting in the way of my wife and I's move to
Bethlehem next year, so I was elated. The only dimmer on
the evening was it was 9:00 p.m. and I knew that it would
take at least 10 hours to drive home. With little time to
think, I packed my stuff and headed home. I drove till
about 2:30 a.m. and found a Super 8 just outside of
Indianapolis.
The next day I got up--after about 4 hours of sleep--and
continued on my way. Everything was going well till about
10:00 a.m. I was in McDonalds having breakfast when the
windows of heaven started pouring down. The rain reminded
me of Noah's flood and for a brief minute I contemplated
what it must have felt like standing outside the ark after
the doors were shut. Then the lights went completely out. I
saw a man standing around that looked like he knew
something that I didn't, so I asked if he knew when the
storm was going to let up. He proceeded to tell me the bad
news that Hwy 70 W was closed down about 20 miles south of
where I was and the traffic was backed up for miles.
Knowing I couldn't risk letting more time go by, I decided
to head out anyway and sure enough, he was right. Luckily
the guy had an atlas in his truck and he helped me work
out an alternative route before I left. Just before the
traffic build-up I spotted an exit and decided to fuel up.
I also had to go to the bathroom, but, unfortunately the
bathroom was out of order--and that was the only bathroom
around for miles. I had a choice to make at that moment. I
could either lose my dignity and go in a bush at the corner
of the lawn attached to the station, or I could get back on
the road and wait about two hours in the traffic. Like any
man would do, I chose option one and silently thanked God
that he didn't create me a woman.
Once I finally got to the exit for the alternative route, I
pulled over to another gas station only to find out that
the road I was traveling on was also closed down further
down the way due to an overturned truck. This time, I had
to drive about 18 miles to another highway that was
supposed to get me back on 70 going west. Unbeknownst to me
at the time, the entire area was declared a disaster area
due to the flooding--which meant that I was going to have
to spend another 3 hours in stand still traffic. To make
matters worse, after I got back on the road and spendt
another two hours in agony, I pulled over to another gas
station only to find out that the station was temporarily
closed down. I seriously didn't think I was going to make
it back home that day, but thank God I did. The trip took
twice as long as it should have, but I made it back just in
the nick of time to sign the papers to close the deal.
I'm reminded of 2 Timothy 1:17 where the Apostle Paul
describes how a man named Onesimus arrived in Rome and
sought for Paul zealously until he found him. Just like the
way I was determined to get home to sign the papers on the
sale of my home despite the obstacles in my way, Onesimus
was a man that didn't allow obstacles to detract him from
his destination. Had Onesimus taken the same attitude that
many Christians do today, he would have concluded that it
simply wasn't God's will for him to find Paul after two or
three tries. I think that too often we pacify ourselves
for our lack of perseverance by saying, "Oh well, I guess
it wasn't God's will for me to finish my education or to go
on that missionary trip" when the real reason is we just
didn't want it bad enough. So the next time you think
about giving up on a dream or a destination, just remember
Onesimus, and if that doesn't do anything for you, just
picture a frustrated young man sitting in agony through
hours of traffic praying for a gas station. Just keep
driving!
----------------------------------------------------
Aaron D. Taylor is an author, speaker, and the founder of
Great Commission Society, an organization dedicated to
sharing the gospel and serving the persecuted Church. Aaron
is the author of "The Angels are Watching: How God Uses
Your Life to Teach the Angels" To learn more about Aaron's
ministry, go to his website at
http://www.greatcommissionsociety.com
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