Rain or shine? What do you prefer? It depends. Smart enough.But I always like shine. Blue sky gets bluer. The trees get greener. All from a sunny, shinny sky. Not to mention, pool-side sunbath. I fall in love with the sun for 35 years more.
Imagine you are holding a yard sales today. What do you prefer? Rain or shine? Shine, definitely. What if you are asked by non-believers to pray for good climate, but it turns out to be rainy yard-sales day? How would you feel? I felt embarrassed, confused...but then lightened up.
My neighbour Duke and his family just moved back to Kosovo last Wednesday. For reason unknown to me, God connected our two families pretty closely for last 4 months. On their last Saturday in Canada, they held a second removal sales on the open ground before our houses. They had the first sales a week ago but was disastrous because of rain. They believed in weather forecast and didn't need us to pray for it. So for this last removal sales, they requested us to pray for sunny weather. For this I prayed. Kids prayed. Our family prayed.
June 25th, Saturday morning, it was just overcast when stuffs were set out. In about 20 minutes, raindrops breezed in. Everyone was worried. I grabbed Philip, sat on stairs and prayed. Later I grabbed Joshua to pray again for the rain to go away. Duke's kids were watching us. Not only our prayers didn't work out as prophet Elijah did, but ironically they seemed to get more and more rain. Finally everyone needed some shelters. Only me ran here and there to cover the items from rain. My friend and his wife were despaired, sad and kind of giving up... just watching. Still a few customers checking out in rain.
I was perplexed. Why didn't God prove himself in front of my Muslim friend by letting out the sun? How could they believe Jesus hear prayers and care for them? I loved to see God defensed his name but he didn't. It frustrated me. All these bombarded me while I was getting them umbrellas at my home.
All of a sudden, something like this shone on my mind, "What do you want? Climate or customers?" I was awakened. Yeah, what did I want for them? Good climate or good customers? What if there was good climate but no customers? There could be bad climate but good customers. They needed customer only. They needed sales ultimately. How blind I was to this simple truth! How stuck I was to ask for climate! God, in his mysterious wisdom, didn't grant good climate. It rained and rained. But in his most gracious caring, He promised customers - good and many. That was why we saw customers checking out and buying even in rains.
My heart was released. Joy again filled me. I knew we didn't need good climate to guarantee sales. He would directly give good customers. I went down and checked out with them again.
What then had happened amazed me. Customers just came by, more and more and more... Some came with umbrellas, some didn't but I provided them ones. And they stayed and checked out patiently even in rains. This started to amaze even my frustrated couples. They were now busy in answering inquiries and negotiating prices.
During a break, I grabbed them and told them what God had just told me, the "climate or customer" encounter. They were as impressed and shocked as I first was. Their faces seemed to appreciate the higher ways of God(Isa.55:9). Then not long afterward, rains started to fade away. My beautiful sun, which makes the blue bluer, the green greener, just set in.
Two days later, when they were having dinner at our home, I asked if they were satisfied with the removal sales. So much they did. They told us how much they made from the sales... And we confirmed them it was one of the most successful yard sales we had seen. Not to mention the rain. They were convinced that God did help them.
Now that they were gone. They were gone without "converted." Yes we still can connect each other via Skype in the coming days. But our human understanding may easily draw a conclusion: waste of investment and failure. It is especially so when one family moved back to Taiwan at the same time, another probably might move back to Mexico later, one moved to Surrey... When these happened, one easily tends to use man's understanding and conclude.
If rains set in your life whileyou ask for sunshine. Try to remember this "climate or customer" encounter, the rain or shine deal: That God is in control; that there is a man's understanding of things versus God's wisdom; that His ways and thoughts are higher and much better; that he did answer us but in his ways.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isa.55)
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."(Proverbs 3:5,6)
Living and expressing faith in a simple church setting, taking opportunities to make disciples on a one-one-one basis, entering into other lives and implanting into hearts the kingdom of God... anything but slow. And unseen. Like roots underneath the earth surface. But life is there. Future is there. And the test of faith comes when people starts telling you some human understanding of this and of that. All are good intent to quicken the process, to get results, to present a good report card. All are good, but not necessary God's ways. As to the perfect God, good is not enough.
So while we keep ourselves always humble and learning, we have to resist the easier, the glamorous, the faster options.
Head's up. Keep focused. Bear the cost. Trust Him. This is our only choice.
Jesus is so good. He never leaves us alone. He leaves marks showing he's there for us. Only we are sensitive enough to the Spirit. The road is long, the goals are far-reaching. But following him like this is a day-to-day adventure, totally new discovery and perspective. Once stepped out, there is no way you want to go back.
NO WAY.
