God provides
I love the stories about people who have trusted God to provide.
For example, there was a man who needed food to feed the children at an orphanage. He told only God of this need and waited. A milk truck broke down in front of the orphanage so the children had milk. A baker baked too much bread so he brought it to the children. Such stories are crazy. Yet since they really happened, they encourage me that I don’t need to share my troubles with others; I can simply ask God and trust Him.
Since I’m still learning this, I often have moments of tears and panic. Yet, I want to share my own tales of how God has provided. Since He’s acted on my behalf before, I know He will do so again. It is a matter of trust and faith. May I never forget so that I am forever thankful for his grace, mercy, and provision!
In my nearly 30 years of marriage, my husband has lost his job twice for extended periods. God has always provided so that our bills got paid, and there was food on the table. During the first layoff in 1999, my husband had gone back to school to earn his second associate’s degree. Because his company had sent his job overseas, they were paying for the education. Because we heated our home with a wood burning furnace, my husband and young sons would make trips out to the woods to cut wood. A nearby farmer had given us permission to clean up some fallen trees. During one of the trips back, our chainsaw was lost. I stood in the baby’s nursery, staring out the window at the cold landscape telling God how upset I was. How were we to cut wood? How were we to heat the house? How were we to replace the saw when we had no income? I didn’t know what we could do so I just cried out to God to help us. The only person we told was the farmer, in case he found it; but we doubted he would since Pat had retraced his path several times, scouring the ditches even. The chainsaw had simply disappeared. A few days later, a stranger appeared with a chainsaw that he said he didn’t want because it was too heavy for him. He didn’t want anything for it. This gift was a much better chainsaw than the one we had lost. With my jaw hanging open in astonishment, I recalled asking the Lord for help. He had answered. I was so thankful and amazed.
More recently, we have had larger than usual medical bills and had lots of car troubles, two of the cars eventually dying within a six-month period, and the family vehicle getting a poor report for lasting much longer. It had taken lots of expensive tests and several doctor visits, then a referral to the local children’s hospital to specialists before our daughter was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. She was seeing the rheumatologist frequently after the diagnosis. Then our son was injured playing football. The first car died. We bought a used car for $1,000. It was Christmas. Our older son graduated from college broke and needing help to move and start out. My stress levels were high. Our younger son was not healing so we took him to see the doctor. After all the tests, including two MRIs, he needed surgery to repair a torn labrum and months of physical therapy and recuperation. I felt overwhelmed with bills. I wasn’t working as I was home schooling our daughters. I started updating my resume and praying about what to do. Feeling sad, I cried out to God asking for direction. What should I do? I fretted for nothing, as God provided us with the money through a raise for my husband at his work. Everything worked out. When I realized how it had come about, I again was in awe and so thankful.
Still the stress continued. After our third son graduated from high school, the second car died. The savings was spent. How were my husband and son supposed to get to work, and how was I to run errands with only one vehicle? Some friends lent us their new car while they were on vacation, and Pat fell in love with it. He did his research. He found a deal that sounded too good to be true. We drove 90 minutes to see this new car and got it for less than the used vehicles we were looking at. A new car with a great warranty and no miles for payments we could afford. It was another miracle.
The van with a bad diagnosis is still running. My husband fixed the oven and washing machine that I feared needed replacing. There are moments that I succumb to fear and worries about how we are going to pay for all this, but then I recall how the Lord has provided. He has always provided. So in the coming year, I hope I will worry less and trust more.
Like in the stories of great men in history who relied on God to provide, so I will step out in faith and wait for my God to work His miracles again for me and my family.
I serve an awesome God. Thank you, Jesus, for everything.
Will you share one of your stories of God’s provision?
6 Replies to “God provides”
Right now, I just have to acknowledge all that God has done for you. Sometimes I feel that my prayers are hitting a brick wall. I don’t always see the right on time answers to prayer. Sometimes I feel that I am striving and striving…and praying and praying…and nothing changes…or it isn’t a lasting change. It’s like here is the answer…and then boom…here is the next shoe to drop. I applaud your answers to prayer…and I am forever grateful to have you for a friend, and to know that I and my family (and animals) are included in your prayers. Probably TMI to post…but I’m just being honest.
You are a dear friend to me, Deb. I know life throws a lot at us at times that is so overwhelming and seems to go on and on. When we think we are past it and another wave hits, it is very discouraging. I know those days also. You have encouraged me so much over the years with your prayers and inspiring messages. I am always encouraged when you share how God has answered your own petitions. During the times I am overwhelmed, I cry out and wonder why certain prayers aren’t answered the way I anticipated. There is so much we don’t understand. We do our best to trust Him and rest in Him and to lean on each other in our walks because we need each other. I am blessed to have you in my life and to receive your prayers, just as I pray for you and yours. Thanks for sharing.
There are so many, it had to be God provisions. A recent favorite is that I was reluctant to share (with our daughter because sometimes they are wasteful) some of the special ordered peaches I had just gotten, but I did it anyway. Shortly after that the next door neighbor said we could have his, for the REST of the season, they had had enough. They were equally delicious. God has also provided many things on my wish list that I never tell anyone about. From the smallest to some pretty big ones. That is how I know it is Him. One year we needed money to pay the property taxes because I hadn’t planned very well that year. I was doing daycare at the time, and so God sent a family temporarily for just the right amount of time to be almost to the dollar amount we needed. Still not learning my lesson, the next year finding myself in the same situation, ‘all of the sudden’ there was someone looking for help that i could provide and it too was a perfect fix for our need. That was pretty big. But He’s been in the small too. Bathroom towels, a shower curtain, shoes, fingernail polish, clothing of all sorts, coats, hats, mittens, wool socks, boots for my paper route, appliances, picture frames, furniture and I could go on. Now I want to go back in my journals and find all the others I have forgotten about. Great thing to ponder the memories of God’s provisions and caring. Thanks Michelle.
Thank you for sharing. Hearing other people’s stories is encouraging. It helps us all see His hand in our lives, in the small and big things, especially when there are days when we don’t see and get discouraged. Keeping a journal is a wonderful idea so that we can look back and be reminded that He has been walking beside us. Sometimes we think He has not answered because His timing is so different, but later we realize the answer was something unexpected, something better than what we had in mind. I need to journal more. Thanks, Nancy.
In the early 1970s we were foster parents. In the beginning we took only babies, however that soon changed radically. A friend from the church we were attending at the time who knew we were licensed foster parents, called and asked if we might consider taking in a family of five children, ages 10, 8, 7, 5 and 4. Needless to say, my heart dropped to my toes. The story of their situation was heartbreaking, and I will not repeat it here, but I told her I would talk to Lynn when he got home from work, and we would pray about it. We were between babies at the time. After much prayer and soul-searching, we said we would take the children until other arrangements could be made for them. Keep in mind that we had three children of our own, ages 12, 10, and 8.
We had no extra beds, or even bedrooms for that many children, and although Lynn worked for the telephone co. as a lineman, we were struggling financially, having recently bought a house with all that includes, and we could not afford beds, bedding, clothing for eight growing children, and the extra food that would be needed. However, it wasn’t long until two extra double beds showed up at our door, along with some bedding and several bags of groceries.
As the days went by, it became apparent that all five children were emotionally upset (wet beds, crying spells, fighting, etc.), especially the eight year old who had temper tantrams regularly. We could handle the other seven children, but not that one, so the agency we were licensed though placed him in a treatment center in Madison. No other accommodations were found for the other four children, and we had them for eleven and a half months, at which time their mother was able to take them again. Within a few weeks we noticed amazing changes in the other four children,.
With the help of several good-hearted friends, we struggled through several months. Then a financial crisis het. We had twenty dollars with which to supplement what little food we had on had to feed nine people. There is a lot more to this story, , including what we had for breakfast and lunch on one paticular day, but I will give just a very small portion of our dinner here. I decided to make a rich dessert that would help to fill us all up. I had one egg and one cup of flour. The recipe called for one egg and one cup of flour. I thanked the Lord. I had enough of the rest of the ingredients, too, except for the shortening. The recipe called for two tablespoons. The can was nearly empty. It didn’t look good. I began to scrape and pray. One tablespoon. Thank You, Lord. I began to scrape the sides and edges for the tiny bits adhering there. It looked hopeless but I didn’t give up. To this day, I “swear” that there was not two tablespoon of shortening in that can, but yet I scraped out two tablespoons of shortening. The family over the meal, thinking I ha done it, but I told them who had really done it.
Thanks for sharing this story. It is wonderful to hear how it all worked out and how you had enough to eat. It reminds me of the widow’s oil jar.