The Things We Do Not Know About

As a child, my prayer was simple – God thank you for the things you have done for me (which I know about), the things you will do for me, and the things have done for me which I did not know about. The 3rd part was always key because I was once called “accident-prone” i.e. something major that would involve me being rushed to the hospital was bound to happen each year. Well this was until I prayed about this. Imagine the joy knowing I would not have to face the nurses and their needles.

Speaking of “things He has done which I did not know about”, let me share with you a recent incident.

It was one of those busy days and I had to close late from work (8pm). Since I live on the Lekki-Epe axis of Lagos where “heavy” construction is going on, I knew I was bound to be stuck in traffic. A driver from the office was asked to take me home. I told the office driver that all I needed to be taken to a point where I could meet Mr. Rita, with whom I would continue my journey home.

We got to a place where the road was blocked. After waiting 30mins at one spot, the driver, being very adventurous decided to take a shortcut. This shortcut is also called “beach road” because of the beach sands or “jeep road” because 4WD’s are successful in passing through this road. Now the car I was in was a Toyota corolla and in no way a 4WD. I have seen in broad day light cars of this type get stuck in the beach sand. I had no plans of being stuck in there by 9pm. I explained to the driver that it was not advisable to use this car through that road that night. The route was not recommended by our company. If his car got stuck there, he could get a query. So many ifs ran through my head the more I realized it was late at night. I trust in God but did not want to test Him that night. Let’s not forget that deep down I wanted to join Mr. Rita somewhere on the main road. The shortcut would not give me that luxury. Driver and I argued for 10 mins. In the end, he agreed to use the main road.

I got home by 11pm that night somehow wishing I had let the driver go through the shortcut. But the next day (in daylight) when we had to pass through that beach road, I found out that a very deep ditch had been dug in the path we could have passed. If we had passed through that road, the car would have fallen in there, and it would have taken time and money to bring it out. Not to think of the exposure - being in the middle of nowhere by 10pm or whenever.

There are so many disappointments I have faced which later on I have found out were blessings. Can you think of any disappointment in your life that ended up being a blessing? A delay, a heartbreak, a loss, or something that seems wrong at the moment could actually be God’s loving hand preventing us from something worse.

Rather than complaining, cursing or being angry with God, I am learning to thank Him for those things He has protected me from, especially those ones I did not know about.

I pray that He opens our eyes to see the blessings in our “disappointments”. In every situation we find ourselves, we should give thanks to God, not because of our perception of the situation, but because it could have been worse – and indeed He deserves our praise and thanksgiving.

Have a great week ahead.