God can reveal Himself in the most mind-blowing ways, some small, others big. Afterall, Deuteronomy 7:21 (GW) says, “… He is a great and awe-inspiring God.” This past weekend, I experienced the kindness of God while on a run. Cool and brisk, the morning wind blew strongly against my face as I ran beside my mom and dog. My hair was braided, and I wore a head band around my ears. Determined, I focused intently on the path ahead of me. Halfway through the run, we changed directions. The powerful breeze was now against our backs, and I began to feel hot as the sun shone down on us. Consequently, I pulled off my headband, but as I did so, I realized that my braid had loosened.
“Oh, no!” I exclaimed.
“What’s the matter?” my mom asked anxiously.
“My hair tie is gone.”
“Oh, no. Did it fall just fall out?”
I eyed the ground, but I didn’t see the gray hair tie that had been in my hair. “I don’t know,” I replied. We stopped for a moment to search on the ground for my gray hair tie, but it was nowhere to be seen. I still don’t know at what point it fell off during that run.
I soon relented, “I guess I’ll just have to run with my hair down.” Shaking out my hair, I frowned to myself upon the misfortune of loosing my hair tie and now having to run under the warmth of the sun with my hair heavily against my neck and back. True, it wasn’t too long, reaching only to the point of my underarms, but it would still be uncomfortable.
“Maybe God will allow you to find another hair tie,” my mom encouraged.
“Maybe,” I replied hopefully. We began running again. About twenty paces later, we had to move to the side of the trail as a bicyclist rode past us. Out of the corner of my right eye, I spotted one- a black circle, a hair tie! I paused and picked it up. Hurray! God had provided me with a hair tie. I could hardly believe it, but then again, this is the God who raises the dead to life that we are talking about. From this particular instance, I don’t just stand in awe of his power and greatness, but I took away something personal from this intervention God did during my run.
Take-away:
As I reflect on this experience, I think God showed me personally that when I should put my trust in Him because He is faithful. At first, my thoughts were shadowed by doubt. I knew God was powerful enough to provide a hair tie for me, but I didn’t think that He would actually do that. However, I realized that was not the right response. Instead, God’s Spirit changed my attitude then and there. I could and should put my trust and confidence in God because He is an unshakable rock.
“Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.”
~Psalm 62:5-7 NIV
Whether or not God supplied me a hair tie, He is dependable; He is still good and faithful. “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods” (Psalm 40:4).
