When What is Hidden Comes into View (Part #2)

Read: Psalm 126:5; John 12:24

Last week, we were reminded in the patriarch Jacob's story that God is at work in the "meanwhiles" of life, Genesis 37:36, and we started to tell the story of Svea and David Flood. Missionaries who went to what is now Zaire in 1921. A bit of a review: The floods were only allowed to have contact with one little African boy because the chief believed that David and Svea's presence might anger their local gods. This little guy was permitted to sell the couple food twice a week. Svea put all of her energy into telling him about Jesus, and he became a Christian. After that, Svea who was struggling with malaria became pregnant and delivered a healthy little girl; however, after only a few weeks, this brave mama died. David Flood believed their ministry there had been worthless and that they had been abandoned by God. He left his newborn at the mission station and with anger and bitterness returned to Sweden. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to David Flood, his baby daughter was taken to the United States and renamed Aggie by a couple who loved her. She married Dewey Hurst and bore two children. And now, the rest of the story.

Aggie's husband took a job as the president of a Bible college in the Seattle area. To her surprise, Aggie discovered that this area had many Scandinavian people. A fact that would be a vital piece of her story. One day she discovered a Swedish magazine in the mail. As she paged through it, her eyes fell upon a white cross grave marker with the name Svea Flood written on it. Her mother's marker. Aggie quickly found a man who could translate the article. What a story it told! That little boy whose conversion had seemed too small to make a difference had grown up and built a school with the permission of the village chief. He had led his students to Jesus, and they in turn had led their parents. Even the chief had given his life to Jesus. In all, the lives of 600 persons had been changed for eternity. One little woman who was only four feet, eight inches tall had been used by God. One seed had produced a rich harvest in the meanwhile. Where no one saw, especially one brokenhearted man, but the story was not yet finished.

Aggie and Dewey Hurst were given a trip to Sweden for their 25Th anniversary. Aggie was determined to find her father, and her search was not in vain. She discovered that he had remarried, and she had five step siblings. After enjoying time with them, she asked about their father. She was told she could see him, but alcohol and a recent stroke had taken a toll on his body, and there was something else. If she mentioned the Name of God, he would fly into a rage. That didn't stop Aggie. When she found her father, she tenderly called him papa. He was so sorry that he had given her away, but Aggie reassured him that God had been at work. Sure enough, he turned his head and angrily denounced the God Who had abandoned them. Aggie kept telling the story. Mama hadn't died for nothing. God had been at work. So many lives had been changed. All from that one little seed. That little African boy, the only one that Mama was able to tell about Jesus had started a chain reaction for God. What had seemed too insignificant to make a difference had been just the beginning of a work of God. That afternoon, father and daughter enjoyed sweet fellowship, and David Flood, like the prodigal in Luke 15, came to understand that God had never left him. His arms had always been open, and He had been waiting to take His child back.

What a joy to see a bit of what God did when no one could see His hand.

More than not, we do not have the privilege of seeing a story in all its details like this one in our own lives. Yet, that doesn't mean that God is not at work in amazing ways that are presently hidden from our eyes. Perhaps, that will be one of the great joys of heaven when God brings the hidden things into view.

Meanwhile, let's serve by faith knowing that the God of David and Svea Flood is still at work. Those who sow in tears often reap a great harvest, Psalm 126:5.