Promises of a Faithful Father
While traveling home from a weekend at the Southern Christian Writer’s Conference, in the quietness of my car, my mind drifted back through the years to the many times God has shown His faithfulness to me. The weekend was a reminder of His faithfulness. I missed the writer’s conference last year when my world turned upside down with a cancer diagnosis but yet, here I am today with another conference behind me, equipped and ready to write!
Since my teenage years, I have clung to the promises of God’s Word. My mindset always has been that if God said it, then it is absolute truth. Even when situations make little or no sense, I remind myself that God knows what is best and His plans for me are perfect. Even with that mindset, there are times when my faith is weak. It is during those times, I repeat over and over, “God has a plan.“
In my late teens, I read a quote by Charles Spurgeon:
“God is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”
Through the years, when challenges tested me to the core, I found myself saying, “Trust His Heart.” I said that a lot this past year when I faced breast cancer treatment with surgery, chemo, and radiation. Daily trusting. Believing. Standing on the Word of God, knowing He is always good, always kind.
Drizzling rain and heavy traffic brought me back to the moment. While driving, I don’t like rain, and I don’t like big trucks. Traveling down I-459, I had both rain and trucks! Slightly nervous with 18-wheelers in the front, rear, and left side of me, I could not see the road ahead. I had to trust that the trucks would stay in their lane, and I would do the same. The trucks hemmed me in. I was familiar with this stretch of highway, and there were no exits for several miles. Without a way to maneuver safely around the trucks, I patiently waited.
“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. (2) You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. (3) You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. (4) Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. (5) You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.” Psalm 139:1-5 NIV
I traveled with the trucks as my companions until they increased their speed and moved on out of sight. The rain was still coming down but not as forceful.
As the sky began to clear, and no 18-wheelers boxing me in, I relaxed. I had several miles to go and a clear view ahead. I was not expecting what happened next. It was breathtaking! Memorable. Stretching across the sky was a beautiful rainbow. It seemed to reach down and kiss the pavement. I am captivated by rainbows, and this was one of the most spectacular I have ever seen.
I slowed down to create a gap in the traffic and take in the unusual sight. As the vehicle in front of me passed through the rainbow, the car illuminated with beautiful colors. I tried, as best I could, to capture the sight with my phone camera. Within seconds, I was driving through the rainbow, and the colors filled the inside of my car. It happened fast; gone as quickly as it came.
At the very moment I passed through the rainbow, God impressed on my heart that the weekend spent at the writer’s conference was the fulfillment of a promise He gave me one year ago — almost one year to the date. When I received a diagnosis of breast cancer on June 6, 2018, He promised that even though I would face a challenging journey ahead, I would see better days. Surgery, chemo, and radiation were a hard course to run, but God kept His Word. Held securely by His loving Hand the entire time, never did I feel alone. I am stronger today because of His unfailing love, guidance, and care.
“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39
I am thankful for the rain that slows us down, trucks that hem us in until we can see what lies ahead, and rainbows that remind us of God’s sure and steadfast promises. God is faithful!