Put to the Test

“Oh no!” I screamed, staring at the computer screen. I had just fully completed that week’s blog and as I tried to save it, Microsoft Word “quit unexpectedly.” I broke out into a sweat. “Oh, please don’t tell me it’s lost,” I mumbled. When I tried to reopen the doc, it “recovered” a previous version that had most of the good stuff missing. All that work! It was all lost! And not to mention the fact that my deadline was quickly approaching! When we’re faced with these types of unfortunate circumstances, what do we do? What would you do?

I let out a deep, disappointed sigh. And I said, “Well Lord, help me prepare the blog You want me to publish this week.” I acknowledged that He gave me the strength and inspiration to prepare the first draft, so I was going to trust Him to help me prepare the new one. I quit the “recovered” document and reopened Word. And through some miracle, every single word of the blog that I lost was right there on the screen! (Okay, it’s not quite a “fishes and loaves” type of miracle, but at that moment, it was just as impressive to me!)

I actually felt relieved—and rewarded—for passing the test with my spiritual maturity. I had put Philippians 4:6 into action. I turned over my problem to Him and He worked it out! But there’s more…

Not even a week later, I upgraded my electronic calendar system to new software. Now, due to my frail memory, I rely heavily on my calendar. I write down everything and set lots of reminders. However, somewhere in the transfer process, I completely wiped out my entire calendar history! Years of appointments, birthdays, special occasions, and upcoming events were instantly obliterated. And in almost the same blink of an eye, I freaked out!

I spewed a few choice words at the computer, let everyone in the house know how angry I was about the situation, and sat there trying to remember every calendar entry that had been deleted. And I spent hours in a state of complete agitation. Eventually, I was able to recover some of my calendar—but not all of it. And that’s when I realized…I had failed the test!

All of that spiritual maturity I had demonstrated just a few days before completely evaporated when presented with this new, and arguably, slightly greater challenge. I mean, really—I’ve been through some things over the last couple of years, and I’ve faced some situations that were a lot more difficult than a lost document or a deleted calendar. And because of those trials, I thought I had learned to trust God for ALL things—even computer glitches. But this little incident served as a reminder that there’s still some room for improvement.

In the end, I had much more to recover than a lost calendar: I had to regain my spiritual footing. I apologized to everyone in the house for the histrionics. And it took me a while, but I eventually brought it before the Lord and asked for forgiveness from Him. How awesome is it that we serve a God who never runs out of second chances?

When put to the test again, I’ll remember to look to the Lord for the answers!