Angels and Endurance

WESLEY BLOOD, CCCC Worker with International Students

…being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. ~Colossians 1:11~

It was a hot and sweaty afternoon during the heat-spell a number of weeks ago. I had been moving furniture in my truck and was late to my next appointment, but was low on gas. At one of the busiest intersections in [town], I pulled into an over-priced gas station and put about 5 gallons in my 46 year-old truck, intending to completely fill the tank later.

I pulled out of the station and stopped at the light. When the light turned green, and I tried to go, all of a sudden the engine sputtered and died. As I tried to restart it, the truck acted as though the battery was low and after only a few attempts, the battery died! People were honking at the intersection. I was already late and wondering what I would do next. Just as I was about to give up in frustration, call and cancel my appointment, and call a tow-truck, a woman walked up—she recognized my truck. It just so happened she was getting gas at that same time. She also just happened to have jumper cables and was able to help me get my truck started. God supplied an “angel” at just the right moment!

Jesus whispered in my ear, “I’m watching over you. Don’t give up.” According to the verse above, God strengthens us for endurance and patience, but not so that we can grumble our way through problems. Part of that endurance is joy. As we are going through the struggles of life, the people around us need to see our joy, especially when we are going through difficult times. Literally “the joy of the Lord is our strength.”

Later on, my mechanic replaced the alternator which was producing less than 12 volts, the battery which had a bad cell, the fuel pump which literally fell apart in his hands when he removed it, and an accelerator pump in my carburetor. My truck now runs better than it ever has, and God allowed it to fail before our crazy-busy season started so the truck would be ready to handle the workload.