Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path… For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen. Nehemiah 9:19, 21
I was 21 years old, just getting ready to spend my last summer at home before graduating from nursing school. My first day home, while out running errands, I found myself struggling after running into an old boyfriend.
Not wishing to keep that wound fresh all summer, I headed out to the back yard where my mom was picking berries. “I’m not sure if I should be here this summer,” I began, and then explained who I had just seen. She understood my concerns and asked if there was any way I could find a job in Loma Linda. I laughed. I had no marketable skills; it was mid-June and I only had three months before school started again. At that very moment, my sister called to me from the house, telling me I had a phone call. It was a job offer from a pastor at Loma Linda University Church. His secretary had just resigned and he needed someone to cover until they could find a permanent replacement.
I cannot tell that story without an incredible sense of awe and adoration. At the very moment I needed it, God provided a solution. To this day, when I find myself a bit discouraged, I remember that story and smile. I haven’t had many dramatic moments in my life where I absolutely knew God intervened, but I have this one and it’s enough.
There is power in telling a story. John Gottman, a pioneer in relationship science, has studied married couples for years and has become very adept at predicting marriages that will survive. He says that how couples meet is not important, but how they tell the story of that meeting indicates how strong the relationship is. Couples who recount the details with joy and laughter do much better over the course of their marriage.
Perhaps that principle applies to how we tell stories about God’s providence. Maybe our best worship is simply recounting stories of what God has done. As we tell a story and remember the details, our wavering faith will be bolstered and our hope restored.
As the Jews stood worshiping God after the building of the walls of Jerusalem, they listened as the leaders prayed, recounting the incredible deeds of God. In a sense, they were sharing their story with God -- reciting the details. They thanked God for the pillar of cloud and fire; they talked about the miracle of clothes that didn’t wear out and feet that remained strong -- even after 40 years of walking in the desert. It is likely that their faith was strengthened by the retelling of that familiar story in prayer.
In one of her most memorable quotes, Ellen White, a co-founder of Loma Linda University Health, states, “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” Life Sketches, 196.
We have nothing to fear. Go find someone and tell them a story!