By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

Several years ago, a friend of mine, a pastor, was ministering in the interior of Africa. He had prepared all year for this month-long mission in a primitive area of the continent. All of the arrangements for pulpit supply in his absence had been made, his church had raised more than the required funds for this vital trip, and people had been mobilized to care for the sick and shut-in of the church. No stone had been left unturned in preparing for the extended journey into the bush country. The long flight and even longer overland trip had been accomplished without incident and all was looking well.

He had been in the country barely a week when word was received that an extremely serious situation had developed at home. Stricken with panic, he made the arduous trip back through the jungle, avoiding bandits and navigating treacherous rivers, to get back to the small city and, hopefully, to arrange an emergency flight back to the United States.

Finally, after a couple of days of exhausting travel, punctuated by the gripping fear he sensed creeping up on him, he arrived at the airport in the city. However, to his horror and dismay, he was informed that there would be no flights in or out of the city for several days. It might even be a week or longer.

Never had he felt more helpless and abandoned. Never had he felt so far from home and isolated from friends and family. He pled, he argued, he demanded all to no avail. No flights were available. He could not get home.

He left the small airport and wandered aimlessly, furious with God, and troubled in his heart. He had planned so thoroughly and had prayed so devoutly. He was vexed about the situation at home and expressed both his despair and his anger in fitful prayers.

"Suddenly," he shared later, "the anxiety was replaced by a strange calm and the anger gave way to peace. Here I was in Africa, 8,000 miles from home, totally helpless to do anything about what was occurring in the States. The thought came to me; 'This didn't catch God off guard.'

"The more I walked and prayed, the more assurance I received that God was handling things at home and that I could rest in Him. After a couple of hours, I returned to the jungle and finished my work. I continued to pray about what was happening at home, but I was now convinced that the God who couldn't be caught off guard was quite capable of handling these things better than I could."

Sure enough, when the pastor returned to the United States at the end of the month of ministry, he discovered that all had been successfully resolved and that those involved in the situation had their own faith deepened as a result.

I don't know how many times since I first heard those words in 1977 that I have quoted them to myself at dark or troubling times. When my 7-year-old was mauled by a Great Dane, in 1982, I remembered that, "This didn't catch God off guard." When, two years later, that same child was run over by a car and spent time in the children's hospital, I remembered those words again.

When, early in 1983, my 18-month-old son was discovered missing from the church nursery in Colorado, I remembered those words yet again. Thankfully, he was found safe and sound, though dirty and scuffed up, a half mile away in an inner-city neighborhood. An elderly lady spotted him walking barefoot, in diapers, down the middle of the four-lane street and rescued him.

When the church I pastored endured a difficult time and a minor split in 1992, these words found their way into my life again. When, in 1996, my father began the losing part of his battle with cancer, I recalled that, even this, "didn't catch God off guard."

The Bible tells us that there is nowhere we can go to escape God's presence. "If I make my bed in hell, Thou O Lord, art there" (Psalm 139:8). Even in the most difficult of circumstances, the words of Jesus remind us that he promised, "I will never leave you or forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

The situations that come our way are meant, ultimately, for our good and not for our ill. It's easy to trust when things are going along just swell. It's much more difficult when the kids are on drugs, when the jobs are unexpectedly lost, when divorce ravages families, and when illness raises it's ugly and putrid head.

"This didn't catch God off guard," can be a comforting reminder that, even though we are shaken to the core, the God who cares for us and watches over us, is in full control. "I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. Plans for your welfare and not for calamity, that you may have a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11).

In a time of national crisis, God spoke to Isaiah and said, "Do not be afraid for I am with you. Do not be discouraged, for I am your God. I will give you strength. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10). Nothing catches God off guard. And, for us, that's good news.

[Father David Epps is rector of Christ the King Church in the south metro Atlanta area. He may be contacted at FatherDavidEpps@aol.com or visited on the church website at www.ChristTheKingCEC.com.]

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