Things happen. Four months ago, someone stole my wallet. Last month, I was stalked. And last week, someone tried to grab my cellphone. From a certain standpoint, it seemed I have been dealt an unlucky hand, 3 times in a row. It’s a good thing that I don’t believe in luck, bad or otherwise.
Thirteen years ago, I have decided to stop being a “Wednesdays and Sundays” Christian and give my whole life to Him instead. It wasn’t a hard decision to make. But staying committed to that decision was. Several times in my life, I was challenged by the world and by the enemy in not so subtle ways like that time when I thought the door of destiny was finally opening up when suddenly it was slammed on my face without preamble. I heard the voices in my head saying, “Where is your God now?” And I must admit, I didn’t know the answer to that question back then. I was so disillusioned that I started challenging God. Why would He cause me to suffer such a terrible heartache? Didn’t I obey Him to the letter? I prayed. I fasted. I obeyed. My heart and my faith was in shambles. Don’t ask me how I got over it, but somehow I did. But my relationship with Him was very strained. All because I didn’t understand and I didn’t know how to pray when it seemed that all my prayers were in vain if He was going to go ahead and do things His way anyway.
I have come a long way since that time. There are still a lot of things I couldn’t explain but I now understand that being a follower of Christ doesn’t mean you are not going to find yourself caught in a storm or hopeless situations. Whether we believe in Him or not, we’ll all have our share of tribulations. The difference between me and the atheist next door, I know I can find Jesus in the storm.
