When I was 16, my family was homeless. We hit a rough patch amid various health and financial hardships, but thankfully my grandparents opened their home to us. This season wasn’t easy since I had to complete the rest of high school years with no bedroom of my own and an airbed that often deflated in the night.
During that season, as I was earnestly trying to earn my high school diploma online, I found myself looking at my grandparents’ small, humble home and wondering, “What good will come from this?”
The nights were cold because the heat was no match for frigid Maine temperatures, and the summers were blazing as the AC units struggled to keep a steady flow of cool air. Despite the leaky roof that fell prey to many rainy days and the battle of living in a postage-stamp-sized home, God worked and moved in so many miraculous ways.
Despite my initial thoughts, lots of good came from that unlikely season because it not only prepared me to start my college journey at Liberty, but it also served as a way for my family to have precious memories with my grandmother before she passed two years later. While a season of homelessness was not what I had hoped for, I’m thankful for that experience. Even in the midst of my doubts, God persisted in his plan and transformed the entire situation.
Nathanael also had a moment of disbelief and doubt in God’s ability to transcend the ordinary aspects of life. In John 1:45, Philip goes to Nathanael to tell him he has just met Jesus, the Son of God. However, when Nathanael first hears that this Messiah comes from a lowly village, he responds, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46).
Similar to my mindset about moving in with my grandparents, I had a moment like Nathanael where I doubted God’s ability to deliver my family from hardship.
John 1:48 says, “Nathanael said to him, ‘How do you know me?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’”
Following Jesus’ reply, Nathanael exclaims that Jesus is the Son of God and the “King of Israel” in John 1:49. According to the British Bible School, sitting under a fig tree was common in Jewish culture as a peaceful and secure place to be. Jesus’ mention of the fig tree could have signified to Nathanael that the Son of God was not only aware that Nathanael sat there but also of what was on his mind then.
“Nathanael realized that Jesus had seen into the depths of his heart and Nathanael concluded that Jesus must be the Son of God and the King of Israel,” according to the British Bible School.
God knows us intimately and loves us deeply. Wherever we find ourselves or whatever the season, we must be willing to “come and see” how God is working in our lives because at the end of the day, God’s plan is infinitely better.
Davis is the Editor in Chief for the Liberty Champion.