Although Jesus didn’t promise to keep us from all trouble and tribulation, He did say He would be the final victor. (See John 16:33.) I believe that during especially trying times God can strengthen our faith when we call on Him. Psalm 50:15 says, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” Here is a personal experience that shows God’s power, love, and care for those in need.

During our relief efforts  following the devastating Typhoon Haiyan that caused over 6,000 deaths and widespread destruction across the Philippines in 2013, we worked in the city of Tacloban where most of the deaths occurred and the entire city was severely damaged.

Our first visit there was a shock as there were still dead bodies lying by the roadside, and many hundreds of people were being pulled daily from the rubble. After my return home, I couldn’t stop thinking about how needy the situation was.  Donations in the form of food and medicine continued to pour in, so I decided to return to Tacloban the next week.

I had been in touch with an airline that had agreed to fly three tons of relief goods to that area for us, but as I was transporting the goods to the cargo terminal, I received a phone call from the airline telling me that their permission to fly to Tacloban had just been revoked because the entire airport in Tacloban was without electricity and had to limit the number of incoming flights.

Since I was in a large truck that I had borrowed, I decided to continue driving to the terminal. While unloading all the goods, the cargo manager came out to talk with me. He showed me the huge amount of relief goods that were already sitting there. He said it could be weeks or even months before they received permission to fly to Tacloban.

I went into the office to sign some papers and began talking to a few of the staff who were in the office. I told them that I did not believe that it was God’s will for their airline to stop flying there, as the need was so great and people were literally without food or drinkable water, as well as almost every other basic necessity. As I was speaking, all the staff stopped their work and started listening.

I told them I was going to pray right then for God to reverse the order and allow them to fly again immediately. I invited them to pray with me. They seemed quite uncomfortable about praying with this “eccentric foreigner,” but I said that I would pray and if they wanted to, they could bow their heads and pray with me. After I finished praying, I said that I knew God would answer our prayers and I wanted them to call me once they were allowed to fly again. They smiled and agreed, although I could tell they were mostly just being polite.

The next evening, as I was returning from a Bible study, I received a phone call from an unknown number. I answered and on the other end was a man who sounded very surprised. He said, “I am the one you gave your number to yesterday at the airport. The authorities just called to say that we have once again been given permission to fly to Tacloban. So, the day after tomorrow we will resume our flights.” I was smiling by this time, and I said, “You do know that this is a direct answer to prayer, right?” “Yes! Yes, it’s incredible,” he said. I then told him that I hoped that all my goods would be with me on my flight down, to which he agreed.

Sometimes we look at God’s promises like the simple woman looked at the pretty pictures her son sent her. The story goes like this…

An elderly woman was living in abject poverty, and her church helped her each month with just enough money to get by.  One day while speaking with her pastor, she mentioned her son who lived in another country and who had a good career. She said he wrote her weekly and he always included pretty pictures with his letters. The pastor’s curiosity was piqued. He wondered about a son who loved and thought of his mother so often yet failed to support her. He then asked to see the letters, and when the lady showed him the stacks of mail, he discovered that the “pretty pictures” were actually foreign currency  worth a huge sum!