God is good. I say this after a recent disappointment. I say this because God knows the beginning from the end, and even when circumstances do not go exactly the way we want, we (as His children) can rest assured that He loves us with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3).
The main reason I had for going this summer for one week to the DR was to find a place for my family to live. When I say "place," I mean a home. On Tuesday, Jose drove me around and we found a place fairly shortly. It was a spacious 3 bedroom, two bath in nice condition and secure. A gentleman (not the owner) led us around and told us the monthly cost to rent. A whopping $179 per month! I was very pleased and thanked God. I got to the motel and skyped, facebooked, and emailed everyone back home the great news.
The next morning, Jose called the owner to find out where to meet and pay the down-payment. Instantly, I saw the demeanor change in his face. After he hung up, he communicated to me that the owner had rented the house out three days ago. It had sat vacant for a year, and happened to be rented out 3 days before I could. A coincidence? I think not...hopefully we know there is no such thing.
Though I knew this, it still discouraged me throughout the day. Satan's fiery darts of doubt were hurting a little.
The above was written on the Thursday of my trip to the D.R. I got interrupted in writing it, and saved it as a draft. Today, nearly a half month later, I continue this post. The day after I wrote the above, the rest of the gang on the trip was going to a Dominican beach to enjoy God's wonderful creation. I chose to stay back and go house hunting again. To be honest, I had little hope in securing a place. Pastor Jose had told me we combed the place quite well, and there was nothing available. Still, I did not want the thought to be while returning to the States that I could have tried harder. I set out with Fernando, Milli and Frank, and immediately struck disappointment. Another house we had missed previously appeared to be available. It was a spacious, nice place in a good part of town. Frank went out and asked a neighbor if it was available only to find out it had been rented a week earlier. It, too, had sat vacant a year!
To recap, the apartment Tony and his family were staying in (and where we wanted to live) had an opening. However, we found out the owner is in jail in America. A "no-go" there. The house mentioned in the first paragraph soon after fell through our grasp. Afterwards, the place I just mentioned. "Was it God's will for us to be here?" I thought. Many would say, "No, God's will is easy, and He wouldn't shut doors like that. He would remove all obstacles." However, when I look at the Apostle Paul's life, I immediately have to come to one of two decisions: Either, he was constantly out of God's will because he suffered so many hardships and difficulties, or God's will may in fact involve disappointment and the shutting of doors along the way. I doubt any of us would think Paul was outside the will of the Father quite often.
While these thoughts were running through my head, I heard Milli say, "Yes!" I had become so engrossed in thought, I failed to notice that she was in deep conversation with a woman. We had pulled into an apartment complex to check it out when Milli got out to talk to this woman who had just rode her bicycle into the gate. The lady mentioned to her that there was a place across the road that housed a pastor who was renting the house, yet was moving out next week. No one had contacted the owner yet. We jumped on it immediately, and to make a long story short, signed the contract on Tuesday of the following week. I was back in the States already but was in constant contact with Pastor Jose via skype. He told me afterwards, that the first home we looked at, unbeknownst to him, had a night club right behind it, and that you could play baseball in the living room of our newest place because of its size (that size will go to bible-studies, not baseball I assure you!). It was truly a more fitting place than any of the others.
As I look over my first paragraph, I smile, because hind-sight is 20/20. Going through things would be a lot easier if we knew the end ahead of time. All of us have wished for this knowledge at some point in our lives. But what if God gave it to us-would we need Him? Would we need faith? Could we please God? I think not because Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please Him. Thank God for our limited vision! It is only through this that we bring our God honor.
