By Liu Qing, Spain
In January 2018, the planning department of our company assigned us an urgent task—taking an aerial video of a transition from mountain forests to the sea. We needed to finish it in 7 days, so my colleagues and I began to immediately search for such an area on Google Maps. We found one—Bilbao, a coastal city in northern Spain—and went there at once.
But we never thought that as soon as we arrived there, we’d get caught in the local rainy season. And it rained for five days in a row. On the sixth day, the rain stopped, so we went to the location. However, upon arriving there, we saw that a large area of sea water near the shore was muddy due to days of rain, which made the scene unattractive. And when we tried to use our drone to film we found that the signal there was weak. Before it got to the forest, the signal was gone. We tried several times, but failed each time. To make matters worse, the sky was overcast and it began to drizzle, so we had to stop shooting.
After getting back to our hotel, when I thought about how the following day would be the deadline for our project I got particularly worried about whether the weather would clear up the next day, whether the ocean water would turn clear and whether the signal for the drone would hold steady. At that point, I thought of God, so I prayed in front of Him about my predicament. After the prayer, these words of God popped into my mind, “Any and all things, whether living or dead, will shift, change, renew, and disappear in accordance with God’s thoughts. Such is the way in which God presides over all things.” God’s words gave me faith. And I recognized that since all things and all beings are ruled over by God, when the rain would stop, whether the sea water would turn clear and whether the signal would be steady tomorrow were all in God’s hands. There was no need for me to worry about these things. I believed that as long as I genuinely looked to God and relied on Him, God would prepare everything for us.
Early next morning, my colleague and I went to the location. When we arrived at the sea, I saw the water had turned clear overnight, and that the long-lost sun had appeared. At that moment, I thanked and praised God from the bottom of my heart! Then, my colleague said to me, “The wind is very high today, there are dark clouds over the sea, and the sky is not bright. I am a bit worried about whether we can successfully capture some videos.” Hearing his words, I also felt somewhat worried. But then I thought: “In just one night, the turbid water near the shore became crystal clear—isn’t this one of God’s wonderful deeds? God heard my prayers, and it was God who helped us in secret.” Thinking of this, I had some faith again. So I prayed to God about all of these difficulties and entrusted them all to God.
To prevent the mountain from blocking the signal of the drone, we decided to shoot from the top of the opposite mountain. When halfway up that mountain, we tried to shoot videos. However, during the flight of the drone, the warning signal read: “Strong wind, not suitable for takeoff.” So we continued climbing up the mountain. On arriving at the top, we started taking videos. The wonderful thing was, the wind at the top of the mountain wasn’t as high as that halfway up the mountain. What’s more, as we shot videos, the wind gradually subsided and the dark clouds above the sea soon became white clouds. In winter beside the sea, where the atmosphere is humid, nice weather seldom appears. But at that moment, the sun was shining and the sky was bright. Soon we finished shooting the video sequence and finished up our task. At that time, I truly experienced God’s authority and power. Just as God says: “He holds sovereignty over all things and rules all living beings in the universe. He commands the four seasons, and it is He who calls forth wind, frost, snow, and rain. He brings mankind sunshine and ushers in the night. It was He who laid out the heavens and earth, providing man with the mountains, lakes, and rivers and all of the living things within them. His deeds are omnipresent, His power is omnipresent, His wisdom is omnipresent, and His authority is omnipresent. Each of these laws and rules is the embodiment of His deeds, and each one reveals His wisdom and authority.”
After we got back to our company, our director watched the source materials we’d shot and then said we’d done an excellent job. At that time, I was delighted, and knew very well that all these were the deeds of God.
Several days later, our director called and said: “The general manager has watched the source materials you shot, and has asked that you to take some breathtaking footage of encircling mountains leading to soaring cliffs and then down to an ocean with towering waves. The waves should surge upward, each higher than the last.” Hearing this, I felt stumped. I firmly believed that we definitely couldn’t shoot such an image because we explored many places beside the sea, but we never saw the kind of scene our general manager wanted. Though there were mountains beside the sea, they were some way from the sea and the signal around the mountains was quite weak. At the time, we tried to fly the drone over 20 times, but before it flew over the mountain peaks its signal was gone. So, there was no way we could shoot a scene of the ocean encircled by mountains.
In the following days, I shot other source materials as I pleased with my colleague. But in the process of shooting videos, we always hit snags. Only then did I begin to reflect on the process: In the world of photography, there is a saying that goes, “Making a living depends on the heavens.” In other words, no matter how excellent your photography skills are, no matter how sophisticated your equipment is, you can’t shoot striking images unless you have the bright light and great opportunities the heavens give you. Even unbelievers know one must rely on the heavens. But even though I was a Christian, I didn’t rely on God but complained when encountering difficulties. Was I someone who had faith in God? At the point, I felt ashamed. Thinking back to the time when we encountered difficulties in the process of shooting videos, didn’t we finish our tasks through relying on God? The Bible says: “Ah Lord Jehovah! behold, you have made the heaven and the earth by your great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for you” (Jer 32:17). Also, God says, “You must have faith that everything is in God’s hands, and that humans are merely cooperating with Him. If your heart is sincere, God will see it, and He will open up all paths for you, making difficulties no longer difficult. This is the faith you must have.” Right! God has authority and power and He created the universe and all things. Regardless of how great our difficulties are, those that can’t be solved by people can all be done by God. God is almighty. I must have faith in Him. So I decided to rely on God to shoot the images our general manager wanted.
Afterward, we arrived at the sea and saw it was a fine day and the sky was bright. The weather was suitable for filming, though the wind was somewhat high. Then I silently prayed to God, entrusting the whole process of filming to Him. In order to stop mountains from blocking the signal, we shot videos in the open area between two mountains. But our drone flew less than 300 meters and then the signal was gone. Failing to get good videos at this place, we got to the foot of the mountain to shoot waves and rocks. However, the rocks there were so small that the images we shot were not spectacular enough. At that time, my colleague didn’t want to continue shooting. He said: “Let’s pack up our equipment and leave. In the open area, we couldn’t get the signal when the drone flew less than 300 meters, let alone at the foot of the mountain.” Hearing this, I also felt somewhat depressed. However, thinking of my previous experience, I didn’t want to give up, because things that can’t be done by people can all be done by God. So we tried again and a miracle happened. At the foot of the mountain, our drone flew 500 meters. Even more surprisingly, after flying over the top of the mountain, it even filmed several mountains around it as the lens slowly circled. The tablet in my hand showed a scene of encircling mountains. Immediately, we flew the drone toward the sea and then it descended from the edge of a cliff toward the waves. It was just then that the most wonderful thing happened. The waves surged forward, each higher than the last, as if they were playing a game. Wasn’t this the splendid image our general manager wanted? It was so astounding! Once again I saw the manifestation of God’s power. Just as God says: “God’s authority is everywhere, at every hour, at every instant. Heaven and earth will pass away, but His authority will never pass away, for He is God Himself, He possesses unique authority, and His authority is not restricted or limited by people, events, or things, by space or by geography. At all times, God wields His authority, shows His might, continues His management work as He always has; at all times, He rules all things, provides for all things, orchestrates all things—just as He always has. No one can change this. It is fact; it has been the unchanging truth since time immemorial!”
Through my experiences, I’ve gained some practical experience with regards to God’s words, and seen God’s authority and power, thereby having more faith in Him. From now on, I am willing to look to God and rely on God in all things. Thank God! All the glory be to God!
