Bible Reading: Lamentations 3:22-36
Key Verse: Verse 23 – “They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
Key Words: great
is thy faithfulness
Jeremiah,
moved by the Holy Spirit, expresses in four words one of the most powerful
statements ever uttered when he said, “Great
is thy faithfulness.” God is
faithful no matter what we might be going through in life.
Roger
Simms, hitchhiking his way home, would never forget the date – May 7. The heavy suitcase made Roger tired. He was anxious to take off his army uniform
once and for all. Flashing the
hitchhiking sign to the oncoming car, he lost hope when he saw it was a black,
sleek, new Cadillac. To his surprise the
car stopped. The passenger door
opened. He ran toward the car, tossed
his suitcase in the back, and thanked the handsome, well-dressed man as he slid
into the front seat.
“Going
home for keeps?”
“Sure
am,” Roger responded.
“Well,
you’re in luck if you’re going to Chicago.”
“Not
quite that far. Do you live in
Chicago?”
“I have a
business there. My name is Hanover.”
After talking about many things, Roger, a
Christian, felt a compulsion to witness to this fifty-ish, apparently
successful businessman about Christ. But
he kept putting it off, till he realized he was just thirty minutes from his
home. It was now or never, so, Roger
cleared his throat, “Mr. Hanover, I would like to talk to you about something
very important.” He then proceeded to
explain the way of salvation, ultimately asking Mr. Hanover if he would like to
receive Christ as his Savior. To Roger’s
astonishment the Cadillac pulled over to the side of the road. Roger thought he was going to be ejected from
the car.
But the
businessman bowed his head and received Christ, then thanked Roger. “This is the greatest thing that has ever
happened to me.”
Five
years went by, Roger married, had a two-year-old boy, and a business of his
own. Packing his suitcase for a business
trip to Chicago, he found the small, white business card Hanover had given him
five years before. In Chicago he looked
up Hanover Enterprises. A receptionist
told him it was impossible to see Mr. Hanover, but he could see Mrs.
Hanover. A little confused as to what
was going on, he was ushered into a lovely office and found himself facing a
keen-eyed woman in her fifties.
She
extended her hand. “You knew my
husband?”
Roger
told how her husband had given him a ride when hitchhiking home after the
war.
“Can you
tell me when that was?”
“It was
May 7, five years ago, the day I was discharged from the army.”
“Anything
special about that day?”
Roger
hesitated. Should he mention giving his
witness? Since he had come so far, he
might as well take the plunge. “Mrs.
Hanover, I explained the gospel. He
pulled over to the side of the road and wept against the steering wheel. He gave his life to Christ that day.”
Explosive
sobs shook her body. Getting a grip on
herself, she sobbed, “I had prayed for my husband’s salvation for years. I believed God would save him.”
“And,”
said Roger, “where is your husband, Mrs. Hanover?”
“He’s
dead,” she wept, struggling with words.
“He was in a car crash after he let you out of the car. He never got home. You see – I thought God had not kept His
promise.” Sobbing uncontrollably, she
added, “I stopped living for God five years ago because I thought He had not
kept His word!”
What to do:
✞Never doubt God.
✞Remember God is faithful
even when you might not think so.
✞List some way God has
been faithful to you
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