“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” (Psalms 145:18, NIV)
One thing that often happens when you get out in the boonies, such as on camping expeditions in the wilderness, is that you often lose all cellular reception, and thus, all contact with the outer world. Algonquin Provincial Park, in Northern Ontario Canada, is one such place.
What can one do when they want to let their loved ones know that they are fine? No matter where we were on our first day, we could not get a cell signal. We wondered about smoke signals, but we were way too far north for my wife to notice these! “Oh well,” we decided. “We will have fun anyway.
As night approached, I wondered if my wife would worry. I decided to leave the matter in God’s hands, as He is omniscient. I asked Him to communicate to my wife that we were alive and well. True, we had lost electricity in our camp, and we were completely frozen (It can be quite cold there at night!), but we were still actively alive. Ouf! And my wife did sense we were okay. My Heavenly daddy took care to let her know. This is the kind of Dad we are serving: compassionate and all-loving.
“When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.” (Exodus 22:27, NIV)
The next day, when we were setting out to begin our hike to the top of the “mole hill” (I really could not call these mountains, even though they are gorgeous!), we all of a sudden received reception to our phones. My son was driving at that time, and he immediately stopped on the side of the road, and while he was texting his special friend, I texted my wife. Both of them sure enjoyed the messages.
Once on top of the “mole hill”, we had full phone reception, and as an overeager teenager, I frantically began texting. My son took a few pictures, but then he began texting too. It was so funny. We were surrounded by astounding beauty from a lookout where we could see a large part of Algonquin, with its numerous trees, “mole hills” and lakes, and here we both were texting! To be honest, however, I took pictures first. How could an ardent photographer like me do otherwise?
This is the life God gives us when we accept Him fully into our life. We truly are alive, as we are never alone, even though we may be living in the most remote place in the world. Our Dad is there with us, and He will continue to bestow his magnificent love upon us. And as I have also experienced, He will also carry messages to our loved ones, so they don’t need to worry.
“You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.” (John 16:32, NIV)
“If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” (Psalms 139:8-12, NIV)
If your cell phone is out of order, God can still hear you! Isn’t that great news?
“Yeah, but I am stuck here! My car has no more juice!”
Call your Heavenly Dad. You will be amazed what He can do for you!
Rob Chaffart
(To access the entire “Alive” devotional series, please click here.)