Never Give Up Your Faith

Never Give Up –
Bernard, his wife, and a friend listened as the gales of Typhoon Haiyan battered their small home in Dulag, Leyte.  The steel roofing sheets rattled in the wind as the storm threatened to tear them loose.  Bernard remembered from his study of the Bible how Jesus stilled the storm on the ocean.  Partly a prayer, partly a command, Bernard raised his hands and shouted, “STOP.”  And, just that moment, the storm stopped.

Bernard is a student at Baptist Ministerial Training Center in Tacloban City.  In class discussions, I appreciated his eager faith and perceptive questions. Bernard passed his tests in his pastoral training classes.  This new test of faith, given by God, would be one of the greatest experiences in his life.

Awed at God’s answer to his prayer, Bernard pondered what to do next.  He saw neighbors running to check on damage to their stores.  Bernard wanted to check on his grocery store, too.  But it seemed that he heard a small voice in his head saying, “Rest at home.  Eat.”  He called his companions to rest and eat, to await their next test of faith.

The winds of Haiyan returned with a deafening shriek.  Bernard worried that his neighbors who went outside would be hurt by the flying debris.  The walls of Bernard’s house shook, as the houses of their neighbors began to be ripped apart.  But their small house held together.  By 11 am, Typhoon Haiyan moved on, and Dulag became still.

Though the storm was over, Bernard faced an even greater test of faith.  What happened to his store?  As Bernard and his wife approached their grocery stall, set in between other stores, they could not believe their eyes.  Stores to the right, to the left, and behind had been totally destroyed.  But the roof and doors of Bernard’s store had survived!

The thought entered Bernard’s mind, “I must open my store.  There are hungry people all over Dulag that need the food I have in my store.  But what about looters?  Will the mob just rush over me to get at the food they need?”  At first, Bernard stretched a rope across the entrance of the store, to limit the number of people that could get inside.  But inside him, Bernard felt a wind of Godly courage blow into his heart.  He tore down the rope, and invited his neighbors to come in.

Bernard was amazed.  It was as if God himself was disciplining the people who came.  Folks in our part of the Philippines hardly ever line up, but the people of Dulag lined up in orderly fashion that afternoon.  Others helped Bernard and his wife to wait on customers.  The people said, “Thank you for opening your store!”  At 8 pm, Bernard walked back to his home in the dark, confident that the Lord had protected him, thanking God for the courage to Never Give Up trusting God.