Sometimes pastors ask their congregation why they did not attend church services. There would be many different kinds of answers or reasons.
I look at my reasons and call them obstructions.
Often in the past years of my life I would be obstructed by some invisible forces from going to church on time. I can name some rather absurd situations.
Once I was already on my way to church when a woman waved me down asking me to take her to the hospital. She had blood in her hand and apparently she was quite incoherent because she was unable to speak between her sobs. I was a little disturbed because it was a social dilemma. Was she a criminal? As I hesitated I prayed a short prayer to ask Jesus to help me.
Just as I finished praying, a familiar fisherman from the kampung appeared and stopped his motor bike right in front of me and he made some signals to ask me to talk to him.
By then I was calm and had a smile on my face.
He said, “Don’t worry about her. She is from another kampung and she has people to look after her.”
I said, “But she has blood on her hand!!”
He replied, “This is what she does to herself. You carry on and don’t worry. I will call her father to help her.”
That was a very eerie obstacle but I had the presence of mind to say a prayer.
For quite a while I had stomach upsets just before going to church, and on a few occasions I had to rush to the wash room before entering the sanctuary. I was wondering why my stomach would behave in that way every Sunday. As I had no one to talk to about this embarrassing situation and no doctor could actually understand my anxiety, I started praying for six days before every Sunday about my stomach aches.
Yes there were a few times when I would turn back and go home as I did not want to embarrass myself. I even stopped eating breakfast in order to prevent myself from going to the loo.
However interestingly as I protected myself by prayers, the stomach aches became less frequent on Sundays.
Many people would just say that my stomach aches were “imagined diarrhea” but I am quite sure I have been having some kind of food poisoning every Saturday or Sunday. I hope with more prayers I would soon be cured of my Sunday Diarrhea.
Most recently, as I woke up early one Sunday I heard loud sounds of rushing water. When I went downstairs to the kitchen area I saw a big fountain of water coming from my outside sink. I thought to myself, MY SUNDAY OBSTRUCTION AGAIN?!
I called the young plumber and he could not be reached. So I went out to close the mains. In order to take my bath I either had to make do with the little water I had at home, from interesting sources like water bottles, Water Closets(WC) of which I have four, or switch on the mains again or go to a friend’s house. But I was running out of time. I did manage to clean myself and got ready for Church, just in time. I would not be late.
All through the sermon I was worried about getting a plumber. But I sailed through the service and even had the beautiful coffee served by a church sister!!
I came out of the church and got into the care. I suddenly thought of my old plumber who I knew had nose surgery in February last year and I wondered if he had recovered. I dialed his number and he immediately answered. He was nearby and would be in my house in an hour’s time.
How merciful was God. Yes the sermon preached that morning was about How GREAT God is for He is always there for us.God answers my prayers often and helps me overcome so many obstructions which are thrown at me. I could really be just at home or be taken to another place and not the church, because of a strange mission.
If something or someone prevents you from going to Church on time, pray hard if you are too shy to share your problem or just whisper to someone you know. God will find a way. Remember Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”