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Verse:And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. —Deuteronomy 31:8, KJV
When darkness surrounds us on every side, and we cannot see what the future holds … When our worries become impassable mountains that weaken our ability to hold on … When we just don’t know what to do or how to survive … When our prayers to God seem weak and ineffectual, it is during these moments that God is closer to us than ever before. Yet we must not give up praying. Ellen G. White wrote, “Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God.
You cannot burden Him; you cannot weary Him. … He … is not indifferent to the wants of His children. … His heart of love is touched by our sorrows and even by our utterances of them.”* Since our mother’s death on March 14, 2019, my brother and I have been preparing our parents’ house to sell. Fast-forward to April 9, 2020, and our world is now immersed in a global pandemic causing sickness and death, overwhelmed hospitals, and millions to file for unemployment. During this time, my brother and I were finally authorized as corepresentatives of our parents’ estate.
As I searched for a cleaning service to clean the house one last time before selling it, I asked God for guidance. He sent me the perfect cleaning team in answer to my prayer, and later, I realized He sent me to that team to answer their cries to Him for help. The team manager shared her worries: no jobs since the COVID-19 shutdown of business; no money to pay her boss the monthly US$350 (my US$450 for the manager’s services would mostly benefit her boss). “How will I survive?” she exclaimed. My heart sorrowed as I searched for faith-comforting words to ease her anxiety.
I responded, “Perhaps a tip,” and said that I would be waiting outside. The manager and her team prepared to leave. My plan was to give her a fifty-dollar tip, but God said, “Two hundred dollars.” When the woman glanced at the check, tears of disbelief, joy, and gratitude spilled on her cheeks. In that unforgettable moment, showers of blessing enveloped both her and me.
God had used me as a beacon of hope amid the darkness in her life.