Phum Leav - Our God works miracles!

Here is Ps Samreth and Ps Sauvan by the drilled well at Phum Leav. How do you measure joy?

The drillers after the first failed attempt down to 64m, had reluctantly agreed to attempt a second drill. And they only did so because there was no other option. An application to the police to use explosives to blast the surface rock so as to enable construction of an open well was not approved. The drillers gave us only a 1% chance of success. In their experience, the characteristics of the soil encountered when they drilled the first time was indicative that there was no water there. But they agreed to proceed on the assurance we would pay them US$300 even if they failed.

But God's plans often defy human wisdom.

They struck water at 40m.

Just a couple of weeks earlier, Ps Kheng Hai had preached on Luke 5 :1-11 (I had shared this in an earlier post). Jesus, at Lake Genasseret, had asked a tired defeated Simon to cast his net one more time. Simon though having had a night of fruitless effort, did as he was told, and was rewarded with a bumper harvest of fishes. Yep, God has a habit of defying human wisdom.

On this trip, we were not only rewarded with a well, where there should have been none, but an extra school at a village called Phum Ley. I will tell you more about Phum Ley later, but for now we rejoice at God's blessings.

The night before we departed Phnom Penh, I shared this account with some youths, and a particular insight into Simon's unexpected catch. I reminded them that while it was natural for us to recognize God's blessing when they occur, and to give praise and thanks to Him, it was important to recognize that Simon's response was quite extraordinary. This was because he saw a truth beyond the blessings. That truth was the divinity of Jesus, and correspondingly he recognized his own wretchedness. It was recorded that his first words were "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!".

So should it be with us. God's blessings all have a meaning deeper than the transient joy and pleasure His blessings bring. His blessings should have the effect of revealing Himself to us.

Let it be our prayer, that even as He blesses the villages, that they will not just see the blessings, but will come to recognize the divinity of the One behind these blessings and come to trust in Him.