GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS!

Thuan: I came to the Philippines, bringing with me a precious gift - the promise that God gave in Isaiah 43“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God.”

I did not know what would happen to me in a foreign land since I could not speak a complete English sentence or pronounce words properly. I came because God called me but I was afraid. The first night I arrived here in Manila, my roommate was very enthusiastic in explaining some house rules to me. I listened but I could not understand what he was talking about.

One morning, while all of my classmates were in class, I was alone in the library. I sat there, feeling frustrated, thinking to quit. An admission staff came to me asking why I did not attend the class. I did not know how to answer. I went home feeling so lonely. That place is called “home” but no one could understand me and I could not understand any of them, too. I cried to God and poured my heart to Him. The Lord gently reminded me of His promise in Isaiah 43 again that He would be with me. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God.” Joy overflowed in my heart. A song came to my mouth. Difficulties were still there but at that moment, I had Him who is always faithful to what He has promised.

Three months later, before the English test the Lord led me to change my two-year course Master of Arts (MA) to three-year course Master of Divinity (Mdiv). I agreed but being alone for three years in the Philippines is too long for me. I asked God that He has to bring Esther, my fiancée to the Philippines to study with me. Thank God I passed the English test and was qualified to take Master of Divinity. I then kept reminding God everyday about Esther’s coming to the Philippines and was sure that was God’s will. But Esther did not feel the same. She was doing pretty well with her business, making quite good money. Therefore, she did not want to come. I forced her, commanded her, beg her. But none of them worked. So I gave up and completely forgot about it. However, the Lord did not. An event caused Esther to seriously reconsider going abroad for theology studies. When she told me, it was too late for the application at the school. In such a late time, the school never gives admission. But in her cause, the school gave a special consideration. God intervened! Her family was convinced this was from God and allowed her to join me. God is faithful.

In my second year it was so wonderful and romantic going to class with Esther, experiencing His faithfulness in many ways. We were encouraged to get married so that we may better support one another in the ministry. We were allowed to go home to get married last December 2006. The given time was short. As students we did not have any resources for the wedding. We could not do anything for our wedding and, we prepared our wedding by prayers alone. God used many friends to prepare every thing for us. He also provided financial needs for us from many different people. We will just go and attend our own wedding in Vietnam. However, we did not know that it was an opportunity for us to prove that God is faithful in a deeper way and to learn how to respond to crisis.

Esther: I was excited that we’re getting married after 6 years in the relationship. We trusted God’s goodness for a blessed wedding. I did not expect that His goodness would be expressed differently to accomplish His purposes. Since my house is far 1000 kilometers from his house, we need to travel at least 16 hours to get there. And while my family and relatives were about to reach his place, they met an accident. Just thirty kilometers near to his house, the truck they were following malfunctioned and the logs that it was carrying hit my parent’s van. Six people got injured, including my parents. When I first heard the news, I was so shocked. I could not believe it. I could not even cry not believe that the incident happened on my own very wedding. My mother had to be hospitalized for surgery. My father was allowed to attend the wedding ceremony but he could not speak a word or even breathe properly because of three broken rips in his chest. Moreover, it was painful for me to accept that my mother’s face was never the same again after that accident. How could I say that God is faithful in the midst of this painful experience? Is this really a blessed wedding for me? However, my husband gently told me, “I know we have a lot of questions in mind about this incident but let us try to think what we can thank God through this?” so, I paused for a while, being silent before God in remembering from the day we started preparing for this wedding, thankfulness overflowed in my heart. I started to cry, I do not know why at that moment! I just wept literally. Three things I surely could thank God came to my mind. First, traditionally, my husband and I should travel with my family but we asked their permission to leave one day ahead that’s why we were not in the van during the accident. Second, my grandma who is 84 years old now wanted to join the wedding but she stumbled 2 days before my wedding, that’s why she stayed back and avoided from the accident. If she was in the van, she must have died. Third, even though the accident might cause 4 or 5 people to die but God protected all, no one died because if it had ever happened, our wedding definitely could not proceed then. My husband asked me to pray aloud a thanksgiving prayer. We cried and asked for His peace and His help so that we can see Him in this incident. Thanking God and acknowledging His sovereignty we declared His faithfulness before hundreds of guests attending our wedding. Many of them are nonbelievers.

Those who attended our wedding said that God used our faith in Him to turn sufferings into blessings. However, the process to fully praise God in trials and sufferings is not fast and easy at all. I returned to the Philippines to continue my study. I dared not think about that incident, afraid that I would complain to God thus making Him sad because of repeatedly questioning why He allowed it to happen. However, when I studied about God’s attributes, I was finally convinced that GOD is FAITHFUL and GOOD. I understand personally that His goodness is not defined by human terms. The sufferings we went through were His plan to accomplish His purpose for each one of us in my family. Certainly, His purpose is always perfect. We have become more humble and dependant on Him after that incident. Truly, I was not mistaken in choosing to trust in His faithfulness. We praised Him for He remains faithful even if we could not understand.

"All things work for our good though sometimes we don’t see how they could. Struggles that break our hearts in two sometimes blinded to the truth. Our Father knows what’s best for us His ways are not our own. So when your pathway grows dim and you just don’t see Him, remember you’re never alone.

God is too wise to be mistaken God is too good to be unkind. So when you don’t understand when you don’t His plan when you can’t trace His hand trust His heart.
He sees the master plan and He holds our future in His hand so don’t live as those who have no hope for our hope is found in Him. We see the present clearly but He sees the first and the last and like a tapestry He’s weaving you and me to someday be just like Him.

God is too wise to be mistaken God is too good to be unkind. So when you don’t understand when you don’t His plan when you can’t trace His hand trust His heart. He alone is faithful and true He alone knows what is best for you. (TRUST HIS HEART)"