40 Days

Yesterday was really brutal.

We are forty days into our trip now and interestingly it is today we had a major breakthrough, with a wall falling down in front of us. This was another expression of one of the trip promises the LORD gave us in Deuteronomy ix 3 (“… and He shall bring them down before thy face”)

Thinking that booking three hotel rooms in three different countries would be easy I was pretty upbeat yesterday. I was excited to find a great deal in a hotel near the Opera House in Sydney, and then I found I could get it for 57% less than even that price! Excited, I made the reservation, but … I forgot about the international dateline we are to cross to reach Sydney. I booked the hotel with the wrong dates. I went to change it and found that to change it I would be charged more than the cost of the deal. And to cancel it would have cost way above the full price of the room.

It was terrible news and no way seemed possible without prohibitive costs.

I had just told my wife about this error, when I received an email from dear friends from the ‘70s who told me of the tragic death of their oldest son, Bryan. I was close to tears with the news and then overcome as I watched the funeral service and knew what an impact this was to his parents, brothers and seven children. The service was beautiful, video pictures of Bryan and family gorgeous, and everyone in the family loves Jesus. As a family they have been an incredible witness, affecting nations, but the blow was hard.

It made my concerns pale in significance. I spent a couple of hours praying for the family and then turned to pray and give thanks to God for His promises on this trip. He is the One who makes a way where there is no way.

Today I woke burdened for Bryan’s family and again niggled inside about this seemingly insurmountable wall before us. After lunch, I learned I could ring Australia for free and, after giving thanks together as a couple I went to ring the hotel. The favour of God shone and an extremely nice, kind and understanding manageress answered the phone. Within minutes, having fully grasped the issue, I hung up with the cheap price intact and no charges for being able to arrive a day late. Another wall and challenge to this trip brought down. Hallelujah!