The Ways of the Lord

“Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wondrous deeds!” Psalm 98:1

It is good to notice and be sensitive to God’s workings in our lives. Many times we do not realize and are not grateful for the many ways He providentially orchestrates the many details that we may dismiss as serendipity. 

My siblings and I were brought up in the Catholic Church, but our father is Methodist and the son of the first Filipino Methodist Bishop in the Philippines. When he passed away a few days ago, we were in a quandary what to do. When a Catholic dies, we usually have a mass every day and we say a novena afterwards. We did not know what was needed when a Methodist passed away and the only Pastor we knew was not available for the last day of the wake. 

A good friend of ours overheard our discussions and said he would try to contact someone, but it turned out his friend was out of the country. We planned to just have my brother-in-law say the prayers downloaded from the internet. Then yesterday morning we received the wonderful news from our friend that the Methodist Bishop landed at midnight and would make time to bless our father that evening! The service was a fitting tribute to my dad, and showed me that if we put our trust in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts. I knew that God wanted to give my dad a beautiful send off. 

This morning, we were also blessed by a Pastor from the Covenant Revival Church, a eulogy from my Uncle, and a few words from a priest who was a good friend of the family. At the cemetery, my brother in law led the prayers, and our good friends sang my dad’s favorite hymn, “Abide with Me”.

Truly, the ways of the Lord are marvelous to behold. Those who trust Him will never be disappointed. Proverbs 16:1 says, “We may make our plans, but God has the last word.” He wants the best for His faithful ones!