Victory Collection-Book Two

Faith Never Ends

Faith Never Ends

"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6 King James Bible). God hears the fervent, faithful prayer of an innocent child. We can trust Him in spite of our circumstances, " in the midst of the storm" so to speak (Philippians 4:5-6 New International Version). Little Timothy was so traumatized that he didn't even remember crawling out of the rubble from the earthquake! His name means Honors God or Honored by God. Either way, he was blessed even at birth. He was now seven years old and had been in Sunday School half of his life.

Right where he was, he started to pray. He found himself softly singing: "Jesus loves me, this I know" that his mother sang to him at night. He asked the Lord if he would ever hear her sing again. "He must hang on", he thought. He found comfort in her words from scripture about God's presence: "God will never leave us nor forsake us" (Deuteronomy 31:6 New International Version). He felt an unexplained sense of reassurance in his heart. The Lord spoke peace into his young spirit.

Timothy prayed for his safety and his parents' welfare. They were missing and presumed dead. But, somehow he knew he was not alone. There was destruction all around him, yet he believed. Matthew 18:3 says: "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you change and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven". That purity is what God looks for in each of usHe was confused and afraid. But God's presence, in spite of everything, helped sustain him. The disaster workers came and wrapped him in a blanket and gave him food. But all he really wanted was his mom and dad. He didn't feel cold, but he could not stop shaking.

His little heart was beating loud and fast. Nothing like this had ever happened. He had no siblings, but had never felt so alone before. Where were his parents? Were they alright? Why couldn't anyone tell him? Why didn't they come and get him? A thousand questions. But God knew; Things happen against His Will, like people dying before their time. After an exhaustive search for Timothy's parents, it was as though they vanished without a trace. But God was working behind the scenes to rescue them and bring them together with their son! They were alive!
They were not on any survivor list because they were still trapped under concrete, glass and metal. But God knew where they were even when no one else did. They had also prayed, with child-like faith. While Timothy wondered about his parents, they wondered about him. They experienced a gamut of emotions, including fear and panic. There was anxiety over whether they would ever be found. When they emerged, everyone looked the same, with their faces all covered with ash.
Their first priority was to find Timothy. After that, they needed medical care, more than the rescue workers could provide. They gave them water for their parched throats and First Aid. The couple was thankful to be out of the rubble at last. But there were power lines down and broken highways leading to the hospitals. It was not safe to ride in cars, even on dirt roads, with unstable ground everywhere. The dam was effected, so there was flooding, landslides and mud slides, with cars and even homes being washed away. Along with fires and electrical explosions, there were aftershocks, hundreds of them, some worse than the main quake!

When prayer and believing doesn't have the desired result, we question God. Was it His Will or did the enemy (Satan), and the millions of angels who followed his rebellion, cause havoc in the world once more? If someone supernatural is to blame for disease or devastation, it is often Satan or natural disasters or man's doing, such as when an earthquake occurs (like this one) by gold mining in the region. But, most often, guess who gets blamed.

Satan's has a plan, just as God does. But the devil's desire is to take God's place. Since he can't do that, he endeavors to harm or kill God's beloved creation, mankind. Because of his pride and arrogance, he would rather rule hell than to serve God in Heaven. Little Timothy didn't understand all of this. He just knew God was there with him, through it all. The Lord was not some man-made hero who would swoop him up and fly off with him, but the most powerful being that ever existed! Add that to the awesome love He has for us, and you've got God.