I have not done this in a while but I feel like sharing this with someone. Of course it is still winter time in Ohio and many of us are snowed in. Some by choice and others compulsorily because you have to stay home with your kids since the schools are closed. This morning, I decided to get some exercise through clearing the snow on my driveway and we all had fun doing that. As we continued with the exercise, my mind went back to my experience years back during my first winter in the States (2004). It was not pretty at all but God taught me some lessons that I want to share with you.
I believe it was one of those shopping days in December when most of the stores close early, and we never knew because we were new to the system. Our daughter (Blessing) was just about 3 months old and we had to do some grocery shopping at the store. Then we realized the store was going to close in less than 40mins. I told my wife I was going to go start the car for a while and then come back to get them. Initially, I thought it might not be too cold in the car, may be we should just go together since the baby was well wrapped, but my wife said I should go and come back for them. Thank God I listened because what happened next could have been so funny if we were outside in the cold together.
I got to the car and tried to open but the key would not go in. I never knew the weather could be so cold that some locks will just freeze. I never knew anything about antifreeze because it was my first winter experience. I struggled to force the key in but nothing happened. Then I beckoned on a guy passing by to help. He tried as hard as he could but our efforts were fruitless. He suggested I get hot water or antifreeze in the store to spray on the key hole. By this time, I was freezing myself because of the kind of jacket I had on. Remember, it was my first winter.
I headed back to the store to go do as I have been instructed, guess what, my wife and the baby and many others were already helped towards the door and no one is allowed to go into the store but going out. I could not get close to them to explain the situation we were in. Every other person brought their car close to the door to pick their family but I could not. My plan was not to start looking for any antifreeze but to quickly grab a soda in the store, pour the content away and rush to the rest room to get hot water (remember I was fresh from Africa, laughs) but the door was locked. I was stranded outside in the cold but at least my wife and the baby were inside.
After a while, I stood in front of the store wondering how in the world I was going to come out of this mess. I had no phone on me to call for help. I felt empty, helpless, and powerless and without any hope. Then I remembered a statement by Mike Murdock many years back, “There will never be a time in your life that you will have nothing!” It dawned on me that I can tap into the supernatural help of God. I may not have my phone to make a call but my mouth can still dial “Heaven’s 9-1-1” and the line is never busy. In less than a minute, I said something like this, “Lord, help me to open this car”. As I walked towards the car, I was hoping somebody with antifreeze will come to my aid or some kind of magic will happen. As I stood in front of the door, I did not want to use the key again since earlier attempts had failed, and I was afraid the key might break. But I sensed in my heart that I should use the same key again this one time! That was it! The door opened effortlessly. A thousand messages could not have preached that to me.
Few lessons to learn from this story (even though there are many I would have loved to share with you):
1. Learn to Listen to Your Wife (if you are married or planning to be in the future): When my wife gently suggested I should go out alone to bring the car, even though I struggled with the idea a little bit, if I did not heed that advice, the three of us would have been locked outside the store and any effort to send them back into the store may not work since the store operates by the “Law of Medes and Persians” which cannot be repealed (Dan. 6:8-NIV).
2. Don’t Feel Ashamed or Less Important to Ask for Help Sometime: One of my favorite scriptures is Matt. 7:7, “Ask and you shall be given…” That means sometime you need to ask for help no matter how strong you think you are. It does not mean you are weak but some situations in life are wired in such a way that you will require help outside of yourself to pull through. Even though the guy that was gracious enough to honor my gentle beckon could not open the car, but the fact that he overcame all fears of the unknown (he may have thought, this guy might be up to something, what of if he is trying to break into someone’s car, he does not look like me – white, brown, Latino etc) and joined me in the struggle meant a lot to me. Remember, it is not the outcome of your faith that pleases God but the process of exercising your faith. I guess that guy walked away feeling disappointed that he could not open the door (expected or desired result) but heaven just celebrated an unnoticed hero that rendered help to a stranger who looked nothing like him. (Please Note: The simple fact that I said you should not feel ashamed to ask for help does not mean you should become a “parasite” that prey on people’s generosity to enrich yourself. That is not dignifying and it sucks!)
3. God Can Still Use The Same KEY: Often times, we are advised not to use the same skill, method, approach or instrument that we have used in the past and failed. It is perceived as insanity. I totally agree with that notion but there are certain miracles or breakthroughs that God will bring your way by simply acting in obedience to ridiculous instruction. A typical example that comes to mind is the story of Samson in the Bible. Samson was a man of might and exploits, an unusual poet, and he can give difficult riddles that make people of his generation wonder. It was recorded that at a particular time, he needed to fight the enemy that came upon him and “the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him…finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men” (Judges 15:14-15). That was a key in his hand! He used it and did something funny in verse 17, “he threw away the jawbone”. I don’t know what that key is to you and in your own context- a skill, a relationship, business idea, approach in ministry etc. Samson had another challenge and he dialed Heaven’s 9-1-1, “Because he was thirsty, he cried out to the Lord” and the same jawbone is what was needed to perfect his miracle, “But God clave an hollow place in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived” (v.19-KJV). Never forget that we are finite beings created by an Infinite Being. God is able to perform a miracle in a thousand way because He is infinite in His ways. He’s got a thousand ways to make you a millionaire and all you can think of are just one or two ways. He can choose to open my car by using another means but I was not expecting the door to open at that particular time with that same key at that moment. Let me end this short story with this last point:
4. Faith Always Win: Someone has defined the acronym for faith as Finding Answers In The Heart. It is one thing for me to call unto God, it is another thing for me to be calm enough to hear the ridiculous instruction in my heart, “Go use the key again and stop looking for another help”. Even though I knew I was eventually going to need the key to open the car and start the engine, but because of the struggles I had with the key, it was not one of my options to try again at that moment. May be after I would have used antifreeze or hot water, then I can use it. But deep down in my heart, I heard the voice of faith saying, “Use the same KEY now!” God dropped the answer to my predicament in my heart and I acted upon it. Don’t despise or ignore the thoughts in your heart because your heart is GOOD!
In closing, even though my first winter was funny and challenging, now I can have some fun in the snow with my little buddy (Isaac).
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| 2014 Winter |
In His ever increasing love,
Sam Kuye, M.Div.
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