A Red Umbrella

Scriptures: “Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 1:1)

A mid-west farming community was suffering from a drought. As the drought lingered on, the quality of life in this community worsened. Not only did they need water for their fields, but also for their daily personal needs. The situation became so bad that the church there decided to have a prayer meeting for rain.

The time for the prayer meeting came and lots of people showed up. They were all concerned with such a severe and personal problem. The pastor got there early and, as he moved his way through the crowds to the front, he could feel the anxiety and helplessness as he greeted people.

When he got to the front, just as he was about to tell everyone that the prayer meeting was about to begin, he noticed that there was an eleven-year-old girl sitting on the first row, with her face shining with excitement and a red umbrella next to her. When the pastor saw her, he couldn’t help smiling because, even though many people came to the meeting to pray for rain, only this girl expected to see the response from God.

We Christians have been taught and encouraged to pray. We believe that prayers will enhance our relationships with God. We believe that God actually hears our prayers. We believe that God cares enough about us that He does intervene in our lives. But, how often do we pray with the conviction that God will respond?

This eleven-year-old girl reminds me of the importance and the reality of a personal relationship with God. She went to that prayer meeting with excitement. Why? Was it simply because it’s a church activity where she was going to meet a lot of people? Or was it because she was expecting to meet with God through prayers? The presence of the red umbrella said so much about how she looked at the God she put faith in. She might have been too young to really understand all the economic implications of the drought. But she knew God enough to know that He cared, He’s willing, and He was more than capable of delivering them out of that drought. More than knowing, she actually expected God to respond to their prayers right there by sending rain to them.

Who said faith is separable from deeds? They are two sides of the same thing called the new life from God. Bible is very clear on this issue. Apostle Paul asked the all Christians that they were “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3) Apostle John taught that “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” (I John 2:6) Apostle James was also very clear on this for he said, “As the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” (James 2:26)

My dad was recently admitted to a hospital because he fainted when he was walking on the road. When the doctor came in to check on him, the first thing he asked the nurse was, “How’s the vital signs?” These vital signs included his heart rate, blood oxygen contents, blood pressure reading, body temperature, and a few others. These were key readings that doctors use to make the initial determination the physical condition of my dad.

Likewise, there are important signs we can use to assess the maturity of our spiritual lives. The most of important sign of these, to me, is how real God is to us. Is He real to us as you and me to each other? Do we actually believe that when we call Him we can actually hear his voice? Do we actually believe that He cares enough for us that He actually checks in on us often to see how we are doing? Have we experienced enough of His love that we actually expect Him to help us in the dilemmas where we can’t do anything about? When we hear a voice in our hearts, can we tell if that’s the voice of God?

In addition to the knowledge about God, as taught by the Bible, how real and how personable God is to you? Given the current economy, this may not be an easy question to answer. But, with all the promises He has given us in the Bible, I think this should not have been a question. Instead, this should have been an opportunity for testimonies, right? May God help us all that, every time we come to Him, we come with a heart ready to jump into action with Him!

Prayer Requests:
For all those facing difficult economic challenges

Prayer:

Our Lord God, the outlook for our material well-being may be bad. But we are convinced that You are in control of our lives, yesterday, today and tomorrows. Help our faith so we may come to You with hearts of obedience, ready to go the direction you have for us so that our lives may be testimonies of Your love and faithfulness. We pray in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus, Amen!