"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." (Ps. 118:29 NIV).
When you choose to visit a hot climate in the midst of their summer season, the value of air conditioning becomes all apparent. In our recent January/February trip to Australia, we found air conditioning units to be so commonplace that we mostly didn't notice they were there. If I had made the effort to listen, I might have heard their background "hum"; but the sound was so ordinary that it didn't warrant my attention, and you most certainly wouldn't have heard me thanking them for doing the job that I wasn't even noticing they were doing!
There were a couple of times, however, when I did take notice of the air conditioner's hum: When the units were not functioning as they were supposed to! Once, for example, the day the unit actually began to blow hot air into the room. You can believe me when I say that unit immediately came on our radar! It was, after all, already 35-40 degrees C outside, and even hotter in the hotel room! We fussed and fiddled to no avail, and we eventually called the hotel manager.
It all made me think about God's blessings and His workings around us. Just like the air conditioning units that were prevalent in Australia, God's handicraft is all around us. The Bible teaches that He is always at work: "In his defense Jesus said to them, 'My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.'" (John 5:17 NIV). But just like the quiet hum of the air conditioner was so commonplace that I didn't notice it, can we honestly say that we understand the Truth that God is always at His work? Do we see God at work in our lives? Do we recognize the effect of this work?
I am afraid that I, for one, usually do not. Especially in the good times. In fact, it isn't until bad circumstances arise that I generally even think about God's blessings and the fact that He is always at work around us; and then, just like that air conditioner unit blowing hot air got my full attention, it is in the midst of the hard times that I begin to look for God's hand in my situation.
But remember that I couldn't find the problem with the malfunctioning unit. In the same way, I generally don't see God at work in the midst of my troubles, either! I don't see it, of course, because I am looking for a specific resolution to my problem that I have defined, and when I don't see what I am looking for, I conclude that God isn't there...
Take my last years' "hot-blowing-air-conditioning-unit", for example: God helped us to understand it was time to think about moving, and our house was put on the market. After two weeks, however, not a single person had come by to see it. It was as if the house were invisible. I saw the solution: People had to start coming by to see my house so that my house would sell as quickly as possible! But was this God's solution? Apparently not, because it didn't happen. I was telling a good friend about my frustrations one day, and her response seemed to be coming to me straight from God: "Well then, the house you are to move into next is not yet available!"
Something else also happened that same day. There had been escalating tension between my neighbour and his neighbour on the other side. I had been feeling frustrated because there didn't seem to be anything I could do to help; yet God opened a door. Could it be that God wasn't quite ready for us to move? Did we, perhaps, still have a role to play in our neighbourhood?
No, the fact that our house didn't sell when we thought it should didn't mean that God had somehow "misplaced" us and our house. Not at all. What it meant was that God was, indeed, busy at work in the background, preparing the way, not only for the best house to come available for us to buy, but also using us in a small way to accomplish what we had been praying for: Reconciliation between our neighbours.
It's sad that it took a broken air conditioning unit to help us appreciate the air conditioning in Australia. It's even sadder that it takes the troubles of life to make us realize that God is, indeed, not only in control, but busily at work, not only for our own personal good, but for the greater good as well.... Perhaps, even during the good times, it might be a good idea to notice "the hum of the air conditioner"...to see where God is at work around us, and give Him thanks!
And more on the sale of our house to follow...
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author -- "Aboard God's Train -- A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer", Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.
