Out of uncomfortable surroundings often comes faith

Many times I’ve heard people say “God will make a way when there seems to be no way,”

this story is about that…

A friend of mine recently returned from a trip to Las Vegas, which really surprised me because it is somewhere I really didn’t expect him to go. When we sat down at breakfast one morning and I asked him about it. He told me he really didn’t know just exactly why they had gone until a bit into the trip. He didn’t gamble, he didn’t sit around drinking; none of that was appealing to him.

What he did do between shows was look. Look at all the people coming and going. But mainly what he saw was broken down people pouring the little they had into the slot machines, hoping that somehow worldly providence would answer their prayers and bless them with money. Money that others have lost. Yep, for one person to win another has to lose. But in this scenario, it matters little to most of them where the money comes from, this is the lie the god of this age sells. The only way to get ahead is on the soul crushing losses of others.

And with all the glitz and glamour of a whitewashed morgue people offer their offerings in the form of cash to idols of the palace. So, of all the places to run into someone’s past, Las Vegas seems a little strange. But actually I should use the word amazing for to me that’s exactly what it was…

A childhood friend of my friend, one that he had grown up with had some time ago, made some life choices that had separated them. Over time with each visit to his hometown, my friend had tried to reach out, to reconnect, to say “Hey, I love you, let’s talk.  Each time he was turned away. So, it was very surprising to him when his mother called to check on his trip and told him his friend was landing in Vegas on his own getaway. Could it be that his friend would be open to visiting him here?

Taking a chance, he called his friend and they worked out the details to meet. God reopened a door previously closed, doing it in a manner outside of the way we think about reunification. In a place of glossy heartaches and false promises, Yahweh proved His love by sending my friend into an environment he normally would not go, a place of facade and counterfeit happiness.

Without having a clue about what our Heavenly Father was putting into place. Many would be judgmental about his trip to Las Vegas, calling him out for even going. But what makes sense to man, figures not into God’s divine plan. Yahweh’s desire is to reveal his love using those who are willing to prove it. That means going even when called to go to places that are uncomfortable for us. Faith is proved and Yahweh is honored.