It was just an ordinary day like so many others, or so I thought ...

I love walking and like to do a little bit each day to keep as active as possible.  Because most of the things that occupy my personal time are creative, and it's not really possible to be active and creative at the same time, so walking gets me moving and gets the fresh air into my lungs.  Anyway, a few days ago, like I do quite often, I arranged to walk to my husband's place of employment, collect our car and drive to my work about twenty minutes away. Afterwards I planned to do my grocery shopping, deliver it home before bringing the car back to Paul's work and walking back home again.

However, when I arrived to collect the car I was greeted by Paul who wasn't wearing his glasses!  He and a couple of his colleagues were busy lopping lower branches from the trees surrounding the premises where he works, and in the midst of all the activity his glasses got caught by a thin branch and flicked off somewhere out of sight!

They searched and searched but couldn't find them anywhere.  Oh dear!  Fortunately he had a spare pair which would suffice as emergency specs for the time being.

On my way to work I whispered a little prayer that they would be found soon, and then I got on with my plans for the next few hours.  It wasn't that I was casual about this but I was sure that the Lord would attend to this matter.  I later returned the car and walked back home. Upon Paul's return home the glasses were still missing!  Oh, how disappointing!

Then I had a bright idea - I suggested going back to his work after our dinner for another search.  He wasn't all that enthusiastic because he was very tired after a long physical days work in the baking hot sun.  And besides, they had searched all day while working all to no avail!  But I wasn't convinced that the glasses would never be found.

They were out there in the debris ... somewhere!

So I started praying about the matter with more fervour now because this was turning into an issue that was more than just about finding missing glasses.

After dinner was finished and dishes were cleaned we headed off back to try again.  When I got there and saw what we would have to be searching through, my heart sank!  There was so much debris in the form of tree limbs, leaves, ivy, trash, and dusty ground, it would be literally be like looking for a needle in a haystack!  "This is impossible", I began to think, but then I remembered that I had prayed about this and I was confident that the Lord would enable the glasses to be found.

Unfortunately Paul wasn't at all optimistic about finding them. I can't blame him because he was tired and we were covering ground that had already been searched through earlier.  But I was asking the Lord to come through with this because although the glasses were important, something else about this was more important! I know that the Lord values our trust in Him, so what would be the good of asking Him to aid our search so that the lost item would be found only to go home empty handed?

But after the sun set and twilight came in fast, we had to concede, and leave the premises without the glasses we searched for.  I was quietly disappointed! I couldn't understand why this happened!  I was praying in my heart asking the Lord what was the purpose of this incident?  Why did we have to go home disappointed after I was confident that He would help us find the missing specs?

Tomorrow a team of men would be coming to take all debris away for burning.  They would be quick and heavy handed, and possibly throw them out without noticing!  And then I thought ... "There's tomorrow!"  And I began to feel a bit more confident once again.  Perhaps it wasn't too late after all!

I must add at this point that my life's circumstances have allowed me the privilege of having and making time to spend in the presence of the Lord for the most part of this year.  I have learned many precious things about His sweet character, and learned how to pray prayers I know God will answer.  So to have been disappointed in this way didn't make any sense to me, because as I mentioned earlier, this was more than about finding lost glasses.  This was about a meaningful relationship with Him, and demonstrating enough confidence in Him to encourage others to trust Him as well.

This was all about protecting His character and maintaining His integrity.
And ... I had prayed about this!!!

So, as the next day dawned I asked the Lord again about this matter, said 'good bye' to Paul as he headed off to work.  I glanced at the clock and made a mental note of the time and things I had to do before walking up to collect the car as I did the day before.

It seemed that in no time at all it was time once again for me to leave.  The weather was good.  I met some nice smiling people walking in the opposite direction to me and had some sweet moments in prayer while walking.  While I entered the last little road before going down the back lane to where I would find the car, I wondered if the men might have found what we had been unsuccessfully been looking for, and prayed about this - just one last time.

As I rounded the corner and headed to the car Paul came walking towards me ... wearing the said glasses!  The men who were clearing away the debris had been informed and were on the lookout and found them about half an hour in to their work.  AND they were found completely undamaged and unmarked!  I was so very grateful and my heart was touched very deeply, I couldn't help but shed a tear or two ... because I had prayed about this.  And His answer to prayer verified to me that the outcome of this was important to Him as well, which made His answer to my prayers about this issue all the more precious.

So why have I gone to great lengths to tell you about this?

It is because those of us who know our beloved Lord Jesus as our Lord and Saviour are precious to God.  He cares about the intricate details of our lives, and it is so easy to forget about this our daily living.  But the Bible tells us that He who knows and cares about every little sparrow, knows the number of hairs on our head:

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows."
Luke 12: 6-7.

'He knows about all our wanderings: and puts all our tears into His bottle'
(See Psalm 56: 8.)

So it stands to reason that He who knows and cares about what we would consider mundane or random things cares about - missing glasses, lost car keys, sick children, job interviews, and every or any other possible thing you can think of that is important to you.

He cares about these things because He cares about what you think about Him.  He wants you to know that He can be trusted not just for the big stuff like our eternal destiny but for the everyday things that are part of our everyday lives.  What He accomplished on the cross when He came for the purpose of atoning for our sin was also to mend the relationship between us and God that our sin severed.

A relationship with Him is what He values so highly,
and this is something His people are meant to deeply appreciate 'here and now' as well as 'there and then'.

How can we as His people enjoy a relationship like this now? How can we know how to pray prayers we know God will answer? Please allow the Lord Jesus Himself to answer these questions:

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you,
ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you."
John 15: 7

Unlike me who hasn't learned yet how to communicate without the use of many words - my beloved Lord can say it all in just a very few of them. :)

May I appeal to you from the bottom of my heart to make the time it takes to be alone with Him each day, just to sit quietly with open Bible, open ears, open eyes, and an open heart.  Let His Word sink in and become an integral part of your inmost being, and before long you will begin to think like He thinks and be able to pray with 'the mind of Christ'.  There cannot possibly be any higher or more satisfying way to live ♥

~~~~~

>> Do you have any questions or comments about what it means to have an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus?  I would love to hear from you - why not say hello down below! ♥