In
2011 I was given a three month sabbatical.
Included in this time of rest and refreshment was a month long trip to
Europe. We attended music festivals in
Vienna, Austria, Leipzig, Germany and London, England. One leg of our trip
would enable us to spend a few days in Wittenberg, Germany, the home of Martin
Luther and the place where the Reformation of the church had its
beginnings. There was just one problem:
our travel agent told us there was no train from Leipzig to Wittenberg. We would have to travel all the way to
Berlin, Germany, change trains and then double back to Wittenberg. None of this made sense to us but we accepted
it as part of traveling in a foreign country.
We
boarded the train and quickly found our seats.
The conductor called out the route we would take which included stops at a number
of cities including…yes, Wittenberg. I
talked to a train official and asked if Sherri and I could simply leave the
train at the Wittenberg stop and not travel all the way to Berlin. He said to me, “Of course you can!” Sherri and I rejoiced. Wittenberg was having a special festival celebrating the marriage of Martin and Katie Luther. Now we would be able to attend. We were
so excited at our good fortune.
Sherri and I loved traveling by train, seeing the German countryside and what seemed like
miles and miles of land producing all kinds of good crops. Every village was picturesque and seemingly
at the center of each one stood a church with a steeple and cross for everyone
to see.
Finally,
we heard the Wittenberg stop called out.
We grabbed our luggage and stepped off onto the platform. The train blew its horn and off it went.
Our
excitement didn’t last long - there wasn’t a single soul at the train
station. The information booth was
closed. We could see in the distance
where the city of Wittenberg was – we just didn’t know how we were going to get
there.
Suddenly
it seemed as though good fortune had come through. A taxi drove by. I flagged the fellow down and asked if we
could get a ride. The driver told us he
was occupied and that I should call for a taxi to pick us up.
That
wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I was
having a terrible time making international phone calls. You’ve had salespeople explain to you how simple
something is to do or use, right? Unfortunately, we had had little success making such phone calls. I wasn't very optimistic that we would reach anyone.
As
I started dialing the number, Sherri prayed out loud, saying simply: “Lord, we
need a taxi.” No sooner had she said the
words than I turned around and behind me was a taxi! We didn’t even hear it
pull up to the curb. The driver asked us
if we were going to town and we said, “Yes!” And just like that, we were
enjoying the festival in Wittenberg.
On
our ride into town, Sherri and I couldn’t help but keep looking at each other
and smiling. We were thinking the same
thing: “God is good!” We needed help and
the Lord heard our call and provided the help we needed, almost instantly. Amazing!
God
doesn’t promise to answer every prayer that quickly. In fact, we experience times when the Lord
seems to take His time to get back to us.
Still, as disciples of the Lord, we do not despair. Instead, we come in Jesus’ name, in confident
faith that our Lord will answer in His perfect time and according to His
perfect will. 1 John 5:14 tells us: This is the confidence we have in
approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Isn’t
that great. God hears us…even when we
need a ride into town!
