Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
–Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

Have you ever gone a long way to see something, or waited a long time for an experience, only to be disappointed? Timothy and I went through those emotions about a month ago. Our pastor had been advertising a Christian movie night at the church for weeks, so we were all ready to be inspired and entertained by the film when we arrived at church on movie night.

Just before beginning the film, our master of ceremonies told everyone there would be plenty of subtitles, so everybody would be able to understand the dialogue. “What did that mean?” we wondered. Was the movie dialogue in another language? Had we paid a cab driver to see a film we couldn’t really enjoy?

The emcee made one more announcement before starting the film. Earlier that morning, the husband of a good friend of ours had passed away after losing his battle with pancreatic cancer. According to the emcee, our friend’s husband had suffered through a painful night, but this morning he was “having breakfast with Jesus”. Tim and I were both quite sad upon hearing the news. We knew our friend had truly loved her husband, so she had to be feeling bereft right now. I whispered to Tim that maybe we should give our friend a call.

When the movie started, our suspicions were confirmed. At least 95% of the dialogue was in subtitled Korean, so we really couldn’t understand anything that was going on. (We’re both totally blind, so without legible dialogue in a film we’re pretty much lost plot-wise.) We figured nobody would want to whisper the subtitles in our ears for the next hour and a half. Since we had ordered our taxi rides in advance, and the ride program we use is totally against people changing their rides at the last minute, we had no choice but to wait in the church lobby for the film to end.

As we got settled in the lobby, we decided now was as good a time as any to give our recently-widowed friend a call. She was very glad to hear from us, and she told us that even though her husband’s death would be very tough to endure, she was sure that she would get through her grief with God’s help. She told us several times she was grateful that we called, and we were very kind to think of her during her hour of need.

As the movie wore on, Tim and I considered the events of the evening. We were still rather upset that we didn’t get to enjoy the subtitled movie, but we gradually realized that it hadn’t been a wasted evening. We had been there when our friend needed us most, and we decided our presence at church had been God’s will for us. Even though the night hadn’t gone as we had planned, we got the chance to console our friend and hopefully make her evening a little brighter.

As Christians, Tim and I believe that God’s will is more important than our own. In fact, His will supercedes our own. In the Lord’s Prayer, it says “Thy will be done”. We believe God has a better plan for us than we have for ourselves, and that the best thing to do is trust in His plan, instead of relying on our own plans.

Are you in the midst of a problem or a dilemma in your life? No matter how large or small your problem seems to you, God is always ready to hear it, so I hope you will turn your cares over to God and trust in His plan, so He can begin working in your life.

I would like to urge you to get to know God and His son yourself, if you haven’t already done so. Once you have come to know Him, you’ll trust in His will more and more often. The changes He brings about in your life may surprise you.

Thank you for reading this, and may the Lord give you a wonderful week! We are trying to reach people who are hurting, so if God lays it on your heart, please consider becoming a partner with us. If you would like to make a donation, please visit www.hcmachaplains.org and click on the Donate Now link. You may also send your donation to http://www.gofundme.com/tznwnc. Finally, you can send donations by mail to HCMA (Healthcare Chaplains Ministry Association). Our ID number is 560. The address is 377 E. Chapman Ave., Suite 260, Placentia, CA 92870.

If you have questions, comments or prayer requests for Timothy or Stephanie Burdick, please call 641-715-3900, ext. 874157.