Once upon a time, I lost a key. It was a key I really needed. I looked everywhere I could think for this key, and frustration was rapidly multiplying.

After searching my desk multiple times, I decided to try one more time.

I zipped open a clear pouch I had and started to dig through it, thinking maybe I’d dropped the key inside.

I touched something and jerked my hand back in surprise. It was HOT.

Rather than finding the key, I discovered that, down in a bag of miscellaneous items, there was a 9-volt battery that had been up against something metal and was becoming dangerously hot.

Never having dealt with this before, I got it outside as quickly as I could and left it on the sidewalk.

I didn’t know if it would burst into flames, or explode, or what that little time bomb might do. 💣

It was then that I learned – hey, you can start a fire pretty easily with a 9-volt battery. Apparently, it’s a great trick in a pinch. Steel wool and a 9-volt and you’ll have a campfire built in a moment! Who knew?

But this had been in my house.

On my desk.

Not a fire pit.

It really scared me! But then when I started thinking more about it – what if I hadn’t lost the key that day? If the bag with the battery had been pushed aside there as it had been, but I’d not come back in time to discover how hot it had become?

That innocent-looking battery could have caught my house on fire. No exaggeration.

This is one of many examples where the Holy Spirit has snapped me out of my frustration to bring my attention to something bigger.

I’ve learned that when something big and unpleasant happens – when the enemy does something with the intent of harm – I start looking around waiting to see how God is going to turn it around.

He is faithful! He DOES.

I finally understand what it means to “count it all joy” when we face difficult things. I’m always amazed to see how God shows up when I go into a challenging situation with anticipation. A paid bill. A new car. An unexpected bonus.

James 1:2-5
² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

The enemy tries to kill, steal, and destroy, but our Heavenly Father wants to provide and restore. The trials give us opportunities to see Him work first-hand and trust Him with more and more.

Are you going through something right now? Ask God to show you where He is in it. Expect that He is working and maybe it’s NOT in the way you expect. Just trust that He is. Keep praying and watching – see how He shows up!

In Christ,
Keri

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