Day 17: John Guarino
“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. When we are weak, we are strong. So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me”. 2 Corinthians 12:9
When we have much, it is very easy to rely on our own stuff. Our clothes, our technology, our money, our things. It is much easier to see the hand of God at work when we lack. We learn so much more in the valley than on the mountaintop. When we are weak, we learn to rely so much more on God’s strength.
We took a trip to Italy in October. Within the first hour of our arrival, our rental car was broken into, and all of our luggage was stolen, leaving us only with the clothes on our back. Our experience taught us how little we need.
We also witnessed such an outpouring of love and support from our children, a work assistant, friends and family. Prayers of support from our brothers and sisters at Grace Chapel were also greatly appreciated. Throughout our experience, it was abundantly clear that God was still with us.
Two stories highlight His presence:
#1
After spending hours at the police station reporting our theft, we had to drive to a hotel two hours away in an unfamiliar area in the dark of night. Our navigation system brought us to the general vicinity of the hotel, but it was unclear how to reach the actual hotel location.
We found ourselves at 1:30 am in a narrow alley without cell service and unable to drive further ahead. My wife Thea had gotten out of the car as we entered the alley, and she had no way to get back into the car and I had no way to get out. We were both independently calling out to God for help, when miraculously, we see a couple walking toward us in the dark alley.
The Bible describes angels as spirit-beings with human-like qualities who are sent by God to guide, comfort and warn people. This couple warned us that the alley narrowed further, and we could no longer drive forward. The women comforted Thea while the gentleman guided me over one-hundred feet backwards out of the alley and back onto the road. Surprisingly, we were able to establish a cellular phone connection and the gentleman spoke with the hotel manager in Italian and provided instructions on where the hotel parking lot was.
Our Angel couple guided us by foot to the lot as we followed in the car. The hotel manager had arrived in a golf cart to drive us to the hotel. When we looked for the couple to thank them, they were nowhere to be found! We thank the Lord for sending us the help we needed and for showing us that He was with us in our time of trouble. We are also so thankful for friends we can count on when we are under spiritual attack.
#2
About ten days into our trip, after an especially weary day, we both felt physically and emotionally spent and were considering abandoning the final week of our trip. We phoned some friends who prayed fervently for us, for our physical, emotional and spiritual restoration. God, in His great mercy, heard that prayer and provided the strength and peace we needed to not only complete our trip, but to really enjoy the final week.
Another Bible passage the Lord provided to each of us independently was 1 Timothy 6:7-8 “…we brought nothing with us when we came into the world and can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So, if we have enough food and clothing, with these, we shall be content”. We found much comfort and even some humor in this verse as we experienced Italy for 17 days with very few material possessions to drag along.
Prayer
Lord God Almighty, thank you for Your grace and mercy. We realize that in this life we will have times of hardship, but it is comforting to know that You are always with us and will help us in our time of need.
When we have much, it is very easy to rely on our own stuff. Our clothes, our technology, our money, our things. It is much easier to see the hand of God at work when we lack. We learn so much more in the valley than on the mountaintop. When we are weak, we learn to rely so much more on God’s strength.
We took a trip to Italy in October. Within the first hour of our arrival, our rental car was broken into, and all of our luggage was stolen, leaving us only with the clothes on our back. Our experience taught us how little we need.
We also witnessed such an outpouring of love and support from our children, a work assistant, friends and family. Prayers of support from our brothers and sisters at Grace Chapel were also greatly appreciated. Throughout our experience, it was abundantly clear that God was still with us.
Two stories highlight His presence:
#1
After spending hours at the police station reporting our theft, we had to drive to a hotel two hours away in an unfamiliar area in the dark of night. Our navigation system brought us to the general vicinity of the hotel, but it was unclear how to reach the actual hotel location.
We found ourselves at 1:30 am in a narrow alley without cell service and unable to drive further ahead. My wife Thea had gotten out of the car as we entered the alley, and she had no way to get back into the car and I had no way to get out. We were both independently calling out to God for help, when miraculously, we see a couple walking toward us in the dark alley.
The Bible describes angels as spirit-beings with human-like qualities who are sent by God to guide, comfort and warn people. This couple warned us that the alley narrowed further, and we could no longer drive forward. The women comforted Thea while the gentleman guided me over one-hundred feet backwards out of the alley and back onto the road. Surprisingly, we were able to establish a cellular phone connection and the gentleman spoke with the hotel manager in Italian and provided instructions on where the hotel parking lot was.
Our Angel couple guided us by foot to the lot as we followed in the car. The hotel manager had arrived in a golf cart to drive us to the hotel. When we looked for the couple to thank them, they were nowhere to be found! We thank the Lord for sending us the help we needed and for showing us that He was with us in our time of trouble. We are also so thankful for friends we can count on when we are under spiritual attack.
#2
About ten days into our trip, after an especially weary day, we both felt physically and emotionally spent and were considering abandoning the final week of our trip. We phoned some friends who prayed fervently for us, for our physical, emotional and spiritual restoration. God, in His great mercy, heard that prayer and provided the strength and peace we needed to not only complete our trip, but to really enjoy the final week.
Another Bible passage the Lord provided to each of us independently was 1 Timothy 6:7-8 “…we brought nothing with us when we came into the world and can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So, if we have enough food and clothing, with these, we shall be content”. We found much comfort and even some humor in this verse as we experienced Italy for 17 days with very few material possessions to drag along.
Prayer
Lord God Almighty, thank you for Your grace and mercy. We realize that in this life we will have times of hardship, but it is comforting to know that You are always with us and will help us in our time of need.
Posted in Boast in the Lord \\\'25
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