47. The grace of God delivered me 3 times

Name: Joshua
Date: September 2007
Location: Singapore/Hongkong

Grace is God’s undeserved, unearned and unmerited favor towards us, because of Jesus. A few days ago, I experienced the intervention of God’s grace not once or twice but 3 times. The truth is I did not deserve His goodness. I was totally at fault, and even if God did not intervene, I would have been totally responsible for the consequences.

First, I had not been getting sufficient physical rest because of the demands of work. Two days before I made a trip to Hongkong, I fell ill. I got some medicine from the doctor and I had an allergic reaction to one of it. On the day of my trip, I was not fully well. And the medicine made me drowsy.

First Intervention

While I was rushing to the boarding gate, I made a quick stop to change some currency. When I reached the boarding gate, I realized that I couldn’t find my passport and my boarding pass. Bad news - especially when it was 15 minutes before the boarding gate would close. I realized I had left it at the counter while changing my money. How could I be so careless? Maybe I was drowsy. What if someone stole it?

So I hurried back to the counter and I told God, “Help me Lord! I can’t miss the flight.” As I was walking, there was an announcement. I had an inner-knowing that it was an announcement about my passport. I seem to have heard it before it came out. True enough, I was asked to go to the information counter to collect my passport. Thank God, I made it on the plane just on time.

Second Intervention

While I was having dinner with a group of people in Hongkong, someone asked me if it was a holiday in Singapore as he was told that the SQ office was closed. I offered to make a call to check for him. To my horror, I could not find my mobile phone. I realized I had dropped it. How could it happen? I had made a call before I boarded the taxi. It could have either dropped at the taxi stand or in the taxi. Either way, it didn’t look good. My Hongkong friend said that if you dropped a phone in Hongkong, it is as good as gone.

Again, I thought, “How could this happen?” Was I careless? Was I tired after a long day? What should I do? The thought came to my mind, “Ask my friend to call my phone to see if someone picked it up.” He made the call and to our surprise, someone picked up the phone. I think he was more surprised than I was. Best of all, the person who picked the phone said that he was a concierge staff at the Shangri-la Hotel and that I could look for him to pick up the phone. Wow! Who picked it up? How did it get there? I knew all was well because it was the concierge of a reputable hotel. And best of all, I could finish my dinner and pick it up at my convenience.

What can I say? It was the goodness of God. It was the grace of God. If my friend had not asked me the question, I wouldn’t have looked for my phone until it was too late. God knows how to press the right buttons. And I didn’t have to travel halfway through Hongkong to pick up my phone from someone who had picked it up. That would have been inconvenient or even risky. But who picked it up? I never found out. Maybe God sent someone? Maybe God sent an angel?

I was relieved that God intervened twice. That was enough in a span of two days. I was hoping that that things would be better – not knowing that that I would need God’s deliverance a third time.

Third Intervention

I was to catch the 8.15am shuttle bus to the airport. I had set my alarm. But I was still recuperating and my medicine made me drowsy.

When I was awakened by the alarm, I pressed the snooze button in my almost semi-slumber state. And this must have happened a few times every ten minutes.

Then the alarm went again. I was a bout to press the snooze button in my semi-slumber state, as I had done the last few time. Then the Holy Spirit within me said, “If you press it one more time, you will miss the bus!” I was literally jolted up from my semi-slumber state as if electricity went through me.

My eyes opened wide. I looked at the hotel clock and it showed 8:07am. If I had pressed it one more time, the next alarm would go off at 8:17 – past 8:15. Isn’t it amazing? God could be working even when we are sleeping!

Some people may think that the real miracle was how I got down to the lobby in 10 minutes. But that wasn’t the miracle. God waking me up was the real miracle.

I was 2 minutes late but I caught the bus and made it to the airport.

Thank God. Thank God for His grace that delivered me. Thank God for His Holy Spirit who lives in us and helps us in our weaknesses (and carelessness, and tiredness). Thank God that we are living under the New Covenant. I was relieved to be back in Singapore.