Ruth was in a large city—six hours from her home. Her work had taken her there for five days, but she was alone, ill, and hurting.
One night, she had an appointment far out in the country. It was dark, and she was in pain as her GPS guided her down a narrow blacktop road. Suddenly, she saw a pickup stopped in the middle of the road. A man began walking to her car, and she was filled with fear. She wondered what he planned to do. Then she noticed that her headlights shone on a deer lying on the side of the road. The man had evidently struck the deer but stayed as the deer tried to rise, then dropped back to the road.
Watching as the deer struggled to get on its feet, Ruth’s pain worsened. She talked to the Lord about what was happening. “Lord, why did I have to see this? You know I’m very ill and in pain.” Ruth prayed for the deer and watched as the deer slowly rose to its feet, looked around, jumped a ditch, and then ran into the darkness.
Ruth said, “I praised God all the way back to the city where I was staying. I felt God showed His compassion for the deer and also encouraged me that I, too, would rise and recover from my illness. I believe the Lord wanted me to see the deer recover so I would be strengthened to make the six-hour trip back to my home. God didn’t take me out of my pain and illness, but He brought me through it.”
Many of us have had similar experiences where we prayed for relief from problems, pain, and heartaches, but it didn’t happen. Instead, as He did for Ruth, God brought us through our trials.
Trust that God’s faithfulness is great, and His love and mercy endure forever.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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This is very encouraging! I'm glad that I stopped in tonight! :)