Airport Nights

“…‘My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.’ …And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding… ‘Your daughter is dead’” (Mark 5:21-43, NIV 2011).

Initially the flights had been flawless—on my way to a central Asian country on a medical education mission. I arrived in Paris two hours ahead of the flight into my destination and went to the boarding gate as directed to get my boarding pass. There I presented my electronic ticket to the woman present for such things. After a moment, she said I should sit and wait for a while. I did so, but every 30 minutes I approached the desk and inquired, each time told to be patient. I became a bit anxious when the passengers began boarding and so I approached her again. “You have to wait for the manager,” she said. As the last person boarded, the manager arrived and left. “I am sorry, your name was not on the list.” I was in awe. No other explanation was given. I spent two nights getting to Baku instead of one.

Ever had plans in your life interrupted, painfully, without life giving you a rationale, without any way to fix things? I know how my natural man handles such events. How should I be different if I am born anew by the grace of my Savior? When faced with such events, it often depends on my will, as my heart is not in it.

First of all, I must be patient. If I don’t wait on the Lord in this, I will get it wrong.

Then I must be purposeful. Whether the Lord has caused this or allowed it, He is in the middle of it with me. It is now His battlefield, not mine. Whatever the interruption, it is kind of like the bleeding woman who interrupted Jesus when He had a life to save. God has something to do here and I must not push Him aside to get to my personal business.

And then, I must seek peace.  It may not come easy, but peace is here because Christ is here. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace…” (John 16:33, NIV 2011).

And finally, I must be kind. My nature is to strike out at others when my life plans are halted abruptly. None of that is Jesus. None of that speaks His love to the world. If I can be kind when the world strikes out at me, then my Lord’s face may be seen in the middle of it all; and that will make this present roadblock a stepping stone to His kingdom.

Dear Father,
Keep me patient and kind so that you may do your work on your timing.
Amen