I was lured to order something online. Hey, I’m not alone. In fact, there must be a support group for those who are a bit “click happy” since we’ve been sheltering in place. While browsing, I found a gift that I absolutely knew someone in my life would love and appreciate. I didn’t go for it immediately. I clicked on it but elected not to purchase. After that, because our privacy is not our own, the product showed up on my timeline and in my email for about 48 hours. I finally broke down and assumed my click happy stance and ordered. Upon confirmation, I learned that I’d purchased a product far away in another country. I wouldn’t have had a problem with that, except for the fact that I already had an open problem in the resolution space on PayPal for another product I’d still not received from the same country. COVID-19 has impacted shipping and the thought of tracking yet another package sent me into buyer’s regret. Here we are a month after I ordered the second product and it still sits in California. It arrived there three weeks ago and has not moved. To make matters worse, I contacted the company. They informed me that the product was at my local post office. If I lived in Los Angeles, that response would have sufficed; but from North Carolina, the package may have well been in its original place of origin.
When we are navigating difficulty, help can seemingly feel far away. I tell myself often, I read it in the Word, and I have those close to me who echo, “God is nigh,” yet the intersection of His intervention and my expectation does not often align; or at least in my timing. Or, I receive a response, but it doesn’t quite feel abundant; instead like an appetizer, when my hunger is for the main course. Yet sometimes, God allows us a peek into the life and situation of someone else, all to remind us that we are not left to what feels like being abandoned in a shipping yard.
A few nights ago, the graduate candidate was navigating some difficulty of her own while writing her thesis. I spoke into her and encouraged her to the extent that I could. After all, I’ve been in academia all my life and if anyone understands disappointment in that arena, I’m your girl. Yet no matter what I said or how I encouraged, my words fell short in penetrating her heart such to the extent that she could find rest for her soul. My mother prayed, encouraged her and added the experience to her prayer journal. That was sho nuff good and I know from personal experience the residue of such action, but in the end, it was neither of us that were able to provide what she needed.
God knew. He sees. He sends. While we (mom and I) were amplifying, God sent a friend of hers to encourage through a video message. She didn’t know what a difference her intervention would make. She had no idea that she had literally in less than two minutes said everything that needed to be heard. God saw that we were certainly working with the tools that we possessed, but He elected the repair to be completed by another vessel. What a mighty God we serve! Proverbs 15:3 reads, “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere.” Further, Deuteronomy 33:26 affirms, “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to help you, and in His excellency on the clouds.” The collaboration of these two passages declares that He Sees. He Sends.
Is it simple? I’m not certain. I do know that when we keep this consideration at the forefront of our problems and in the frontal lobe of our mind, we can usher in a praise, knowing confidently that He will respond to our petitions. I don’t know when I may expect my package; but God has never shown up too late for me to use what He carries. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.
