A’s Heavenly Downloads

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take  delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” Psalm 37:3-4 (NIV)

I have some encouragement to share and thanks to give my Lord and saviour.

A couple of weeks ago, my brother called me to ask for contact details for the Home office to find out if there was any update on his application for naturalisation as a British citizen. I found the details online and sent it to him along with information on its website saying they don’t provide updates.

That night I prayed to the Lord and asked Him to give my brother divine favour and have his application approved much sooner than the six-month time frame  provided by the Home Office. I had prayed this before at the beginning, when his application was submitted.

Five days later, I received a phone call from my brother: the Home Office had approved his application and he had been invited to attend a citizenship ceremony! It had been three months since he first applied and seven weeks since he had provided the documents and biometric data required to support his application. Seven weeks! God is good. 

I was so pleased. I was reminded of the verse of the day that I had seen on the Bible app that morning. I usually look at the app every morning,  that day the verse was:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 (NIV)

I had actually been feeling a bit down for a couple of days, I was recovering from a cold and I think my hormones also  played a role. On that particular day I was feeling quite rubbish and a bit unloved. I’d still been praying and talking to God throughout though. Then,  prior to my brother’s phone-call, I received a lovely message from my other brother thanking me for being there for him, followed by another message from a new friend that I am getting to know  just randomly sending me love. That was it, there was nothing else to the message and it was totally unsolicited. We hadn’t spoken or messaged at all for 4 days, she couldn’t have known my emotional state. 

It was beautiful, just the pick me up I needed and I’m grateful to God for using the people in my life to show up and give me a boost. My brother’s news about his citizenship application being granted  was the icing and  the cherry on the cake. I actually danced when I got off the phone.

I knew that God  had been working to cheer me up and strengthen my faith in Him and His goodness. 

The day before I had seen a pregnant lady in church and couldn’t stop staring at her. There’s  nothing unusual about seeing pregnant ladies in church, except that this particular lady was very pregnant. Not only that – this particular lady, I recall, had confided in me almost 7 months ago in a small group gathering that she and her husband had been unable to conceive a child. I remember her being quite emotional  as she was telling me about their difficulties. Her pain and heartbreak were palpable through her tears. I also remember trying to encourage her at the time, I don’t know what the exact issue was, but it seemed to be a longstanding one. I was really moved at the time and also admired her decision to show such openness and vulnerability in sharing what she clearly regarded to be a private matter. I remember praying for her and  her husband afterwards, when I was alone. I’m sure she and others had been praying too.  Anyway, I hadn’t seen her in a while,  we didn’t really keep in touch after the group meetings ended (we attend different church services), but it was such a blessing to see her in church on Sunday pregnant. It brought me such joy in the moment .

I serve a living God who moves in love always and especially when we need it most. He is good. He listens to us and answers prayers. Hs knows exactly what we need, even before we even ask. 

So, that night – after my brother’s phone-call (and the dancing), I fell into a deep, relaxing sleep. It was almost as if the Lord was holding and cradling me to sleep. God is so good.

Thank you Heavenly Father. 🙏