Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:6 ESV
With the help of an interpreter, a missionary to Papua New Guinea attempted to explain to the local natives how Jesus Christ went to the cross and offered Himself as a sacrifice for their sins. However, when he reached the part of the story about the nails piercing Jesus’ hands and feet, they ran into a dilemma…these natives didn’t understand the word “nail.” They had never seen one. The missionary tried his best to explain through the interpreter, but closed the message feeling frustrated and concerned. It was evident that the people weren’t going to get it.
He quietly slipped away to the side of a cool creek to rest awhile and think. He reached down into the cold water and, as was his habit, pulled up several cans of orange juice that he had tied to a string and immersed several hours earlier to cool. He chose a particular can, opened it, and began to drink. As he sipped the cool juice he thought about his dilemma, and wondered what he might be able to say to make the people understand. The sad missionary turned the can over to take one last swallow. As he did, he heard a light “clink” coming from inside the can. Surprised, he turned it over and out dropped a small nail!
Can you imagine?
Somewhere in Florida a worker had “accidentally” dropped a nail into a can of juice, (who knows why or how)! That particular case of juice was shipped to California where the missionary’s sister had purchased it at a local grocery store. From there she sent the case to the remote area of the world where the missionary was stationed. That particular morning the missionary had chosen several cans of juice, submerging them all in the cool creek. When he pulled them out of the water, he chose the very one can that held the nail!
Excited and full of newfound zeal, the missionary ran back to the people, hurriedly calling for the interpreter. “This is a nail!” he exclaimed. He then passed the small, miraculous, metal nail from person to person, asking each one to lightly press it into his or her palm. The people immediately understood just what Jesus had gone through for them, and their response for salvation was overwhelming!
Don’t you see, my friend…God will go to any length to draw men and women to salvation. The chances of a nail being in that particular can of juice were certainly more than a million to one. But God knows how to put a nail in our can of juice just when we need it!
Challenging Thought
Have you ever faced a situation that seemed too impossible, even for God? How did it end?
Read more devotions like this one in a new book Janice co-authored with Louise Looney titled An Overcoming Walk of Peaks and Valleys, now available on Amazon!
