Saturday April 14, 2018, was a work day for me, it was a beautiful day- in my opinion- but it was also the day predicted for the ice rain in the GTA. I started work at 7:00 am that morning, and up till about 11:00 am outside was beautiful- rays of sunshine were beaming from the heavens. I could not have predicted how bad it would have been. I saw it “icing” outside, and it wasn’t until the end of my shift at 3pm, that I got a chance to see the state of outside. I understood in that moment what the psalmist meant when he asked the question in Psalm 147: 17- who can withstand God’s cold? I most certainly could not. There was ice everywhere and it was till coming down. Outside was not for the faint of heart. On my way home, I was just praying for safety, for it was going to be a long journey on the bus- and this definitely proved true.
Slow and steady was the name of the game on this journey home, after transferring to my second and last bus of the trip, all was well, then stopping at a bus stop for passengers the bus got stuck. The bus driver could not move, he was slowly increasing the gas, and doing his best to get us going again. My first instinct in the moment was to absolutely complain. I was looking at the time, yes it was a slow journey but I wanted to make it home as soon as possible. In my head and some of my words you could find “Not now”, but I had to tell myself to praise God anyway because I was safe, the bus driver was trying to get out of the ice for about two minutes. At the end of those two minutes, two men ran up to the bus stop, and as soon as they got to the door the bus driver changed his strategy and we were moving again. The sentiments of the men were that the bus had to be stuck for those two minutes, in order for them to catch it, Lord knows how long they would have been out there waiting for another bus to come.
In reflection I thought about how sometimes we are delayed or rerouted, and we get so upset about it sometimes. We get upset that things are not going as fast as we would like them to. When things reach a pause our first instinct is to complain, but many times we don’t stop to rejoice for the blessings we do have. I was on the bus wanting to get to my destination, and so were a few other people, but there were two men who were stuck outside, hoping to catch the very bus I was about to complain about being stuck on. In that moment I was reminded that sometimes the things we consider delays can be orchestrated by God to give assistance to someone else. In the Bible we see Paul and Silas, stripped and beaten for doing God’s work, then thrown in the dungeon of a prison. It was in a dark place, at the darkest part of the night, in their distress, that we see them lift praises to the most high God. Because of the miracle that occurred the jailer and his house was saved (Acts 16). This account reminds us that we are always set up for victory, but not only that, God sets us up, so that others will know Him.
Yes, we can end up in some very uncomfortable situations, I can only imagine what it must have been like for Paul and Silas, but their faith was firmly anchored in the Lord Jesus. This is how He can reroute us or slow us down for two minutes or more, so that someone can receive assistance. The aid in the delay may not be for us, and we would be selfish to think that it should; but sometimes we are uncomfortable for two minutes so that someone else can catch the bus. So the perspective I gained was this: how about instead of saying “Not now” and complaining about how hard our day is, we practice to be grateful for our blessings and small wins, be grateful that we have made it so far on the journey, and then pray that in our delay and discomfort someone will receive something- that God will bless someone in our perceived delay. There may be aid in your delay, and it may not be for you.
Thank you for reading!
Sincerely,
Ashley #followerofChrist
