JUST ONE - Guest Devotionalist, Cindy Rooy

I woke up with a case of melancholy and was dreading the long trip home, alone. I couldn’t shake my feeling of insignificance as questioning thoughts kept entering my head. God, do you still love me? Do you value me as an individual? Would you have died for just one person? God, would you have separated the Red Sea for just one Israelite? A succession of affirming biblical questions preceded my request: God, would you separate the waters for me today so that I can travel home on dry land? Would you clear a path for me? Would you do immeasurably more by giving me some sunshine?

It was now 5:55 a.m. and the gloomy weather forecast predicted rain throughout Georgia and Tennessee, covering nine of the ten-hour journey home. Only six minutes into the trip, feeling relieved it wasn’t raining yet and appreciating the little traffic at that early hour, I inserted a CD and settled in for the long drive.

Sometime mid-morning in southern Georgia, I saw fog in the distance. Oh boy, here it comes, I thought. To my surprise, the fog was actually steam coming up from the pavement. A heavy shower had just ended. The shoulders of the road were covered with puddles while the outside and inside lanes appeared dark gray from the moisture. Yet, the middle lane of Interstate 75 was light gray and dry. I glanced in my rear-view mirror and saw rain behind me. Then it occurred to me: the rain had stopped just before I arrived, and I was traveling over dry ground. As I looked again and viewed the puddles and the adjacent wet lanes, my heart began to race. God, are you answering my prayer? He was in effect, “separating the waters” for me to travel home on dry ground!

God kept me from driving in rain the entire trip, and even provided warm sunshine later that afternoon. It was evident that God not only cleared a path in the weather, He also parted a way through the heavy city traffic. I marveled each time the vehicles traveling in front of my car exited my lane as I moved along.

As I lay in bed that night, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind the Bible story of how Elisha used Elijah’s cloak to separate the waters of the Jordan River and crossed over alone (2 Kings 2:13-14). I then mentally replayed those early morning questions and reflected on everything God had provided for me that day. And I became convinced that God’s love for each individual is so great that He would have died for just one person.