Just because God says He will supply your need - it doesn't mean He will supply it in the way you've been accustomed to - and certainly not in your time frame! We are living proof of that. Weeks went by after I broke my foot, and there was no income. George was still recuperating from his stroke (that he had while I was on the mission field in Ukraine), and I couldn't do anything - not even consulting work because of my severely broken foot. We found ourselves in dire need. The mortgage holder on our house wasn't getting any friendlier. The electric company didn't believe in "my God shall supply all your need", and the phone company wasn't buying "God is good all of the time."
But ... God is good ... all of the time! His Word IS true. He provided. Not always "more than enough", but He provided just enough - and not in the way we thought He would. It didn't come from airplane sales. For the longest time every time George had an inquiry on an airplane it would "go south" before it would get to the closing date. Frustrated?? You don't know frustrated until you've walked a mile in my shoes! Look at this. We're praying. We're sowing (even when we don't have it to sow). We're fasting. We're doing everything the Bible tells us to do - and it's not working for us! We're not seeing the harvest. We're sowing, but we're not reaping. Something is wrong with this picture!
But God spoke to my heart, to my spirit and said, "Trust me." I wailed and beat the arms of my wheelchair, "But I do trust you, God. You know I do." He whispered, "Don't worry then. Just stand firm. Stay focused on me."
I don't know if you're well versed on phobias or not, but I suffer from algophobia (fear of pain and/or discomfort). I am so serious right now! I really have a fear of being "uncomfortable." I NEED to be in my comfort zone. Panic attacks are not fun - and that's what happens when I get out of my comfort zone.
I want to take you back - way back - before the beginning of this part of my life.
Before I stepped out in faith.
Before I got out of the boat.
Before I said, "Yes, Lord."
I said a lot of "no, Lord", "not me, Lord." In fact I ran just as hard as I could from God for years and years and then some more years.
I was born into a family of ministers. My Papa was a minister, my Dad was a minister. Both Mama and Mother worked side by side with their husbands their entire lives - giving up everything to work in the harvest field. They lived in houses they didn't own with furniture they didn't choose. What they owned was the clothes on their backs. I wanted NOTHING to do with that. I didn't want to live in foreign lands, eating foreign food, abiding by foreign laws all for the sake of the gospel. Nope, not me. I didn't want it - not for me and certainly not for my children. I didn't want to give up my comfort bubble.
What I wanted didn't seem to matter to God. You know as well as I do that God never leaves us in our comfort zone. He will always stretch us, and we cannot be stretched while sitting in our cushy seat being fat and sassy in our comfort zone.
So...here we were. George was recuperating from a stroke -which happened while I was doing what God called me to do - missions - in yep, you guessed it, a foreign land. And...I was in a wheelchair with a severely broken foot. I have stepped "out of the boat" to answer God's call. There's no income. The bank account is almost empty. My "retirement" fund is now zeroed out.
We held on. We went to church. We prayed. We cried. We said, "Why, God?" We said, "What do you want from us?" But there was no answer -
just silence.
Remember what I said about the teacher being silent during the test? Well, He was! But He did send messengers by that let us know He was still in control. He might have chosen not to speak to us through words, but He was certainly speaking through deeds!
I'll never forget rolling my wheel chair to the back of the church and thinking "Ok, what are we going to eat this week? There's no money in the account now. We've got to at least feed James. What are we to do?" About that time one of our dearest friends at church walked up to shake my hand. When I put my hand in his and pulled it back there was something in my hand. O man - did my heart ever skip a beat! I just knew there was money in my hand. I slipped it into my purse (yes, without looking) and waited for George to put me in the car. Once there and out of the church parking lot I began digging in that purse! It was a check for $200! I couldn't help but cry as I told George what had just happened. We could buy groceries and pay for James' school lunch for another week or two!
The next week there was another check from another family in our church. And after that, there was a visit from another sweet couple - and another check, this time for $500! Our church secretary called me one week and said there was a check at the church office for us ... it was for $2000! We still don't know where that one came from - well, not the human form anyway. We do know where it was from! Our Father was taking care of us. He was "meeting our need." And then there was the time one of my spiritual daughters called and said she needed to stop by to see me. She brought a check for $500 and said God told her to sow that into us. Another spiritual daughter would take my grocery list to Walmart and refuse payment when she brought the groceries back by.
How can I convince you as I sit here and tell you that time after time, week after week, month after month - our church family and even people outside the church that we had befriended over the years stopped by or mailed us money ... and it was always just in time. Just in time for the school lunch program to be due; just as the telephones were scheduled to be cut off; just as the electricity was going to be cut off - always just in time. If you're doubting this - I have the deposit records to prove it's true.
We were careful to be faithful to tithe on everything that was given to us. I know our tithe record at church looked strange during all of that. There are a number of $20 payments and $50 payments - not consistent amounts, but I was so proud and so eager to put those tithing envelopes in the collection bag. I was so thrilled. To me, it was like bragging on Jesus every time I put a tithing envelope in the bag. It was like rubbing the devil's nose in his own mess every time I was able to pay titles. I couldn't have been more thrilled if I was putting in a $10,000 tithe check. I was so grateful. I was living what the Bible says God will do. How awesome is that!?
But ... God is good ... all of the time! His Word IS true. He provided. Not always "more than enough", but He provided just enough - and not in the way we thought He would. It didn't come from airplane sales. For the longest time every time George had an inquiry on an airplane it would "go south" before it would get to the closing date. Frustrated?? You don't know frustrated until you've walked a mile in my shoes! Look at this. We're praying. We're sowing (even when we don't have it to sow). We're fasting. We're doing everything the Bible tells us to do - and it's not working for us! We're not seeing the harvest. We're sowing, but we're not reaping. Something is wrong with this picture!
But God spoke to my heart, to my spirit and said, "Trust me." I wailed and beat the arms of my wheelchair, "But I do trust you, God. You know I do." He whispered, "Don't worry then. Just stand firm. Stay focused on me."
I don't know if you're well versed on phobias or not, but I suffer from algophobia (fear of pain and/or discomfort). I am so serious right now! I really have a fear of being "uncomfortable." I NEED to be in my comfort zone. Panic attacks are not fun - and that's what happens when I get out of my comfort zone.
I want to take you back - way back - before the beginning of this part of my life.
Before I stepped out in faith.
Before I got out of the boat.
Before I said, "Yes, Lord."
I said a lot of "no, Lord", "not me, Lord." In fact I ran just as hard as I could from God for years and years and then some more years.
I was born into a family of ministers. My Papa was a minister, my Dad was a minister. Both Mama and Mother worked side by side with their husbands their entire lives - giving up everything to work in the harvest field. They lived in houses they didn't own with furniture they didn't choose. What they owned was the clothes on their backs. I wanted NOTHING to do with that. I didn't want to live in foreign lands, eating foreign food, abiding by foreign laws all for the sake of the gospel. Nope, not me. I didn't want it - not for me and certainly not for my children. I didn't want to give up my comfort bubble.
What I wanted didn't seem to matter to God. You know as well as I do that God never leaves us in our comfort zone. He will always stretch us, and we cannot be stretched while sitting in our cushy seat being fat and sassy in our comfort zone.
So...here we were. George was recuperating from a stroke -which happened while I was doing what God called me to do - missions - in yep, you guessed it, a foreign land. And...I was in a wheelchair with a severely broken foot. I have stepped "out of the boat" to answer God's call. There's no income. The bank account is almost empty. My "retirement" fund is now zeroed out.
We held on. We went to church. We prayed. We cried. We said, "Why, God?" We said, "What do you want from us?" But there was no answer -
just silence.
Remember what I said about the teacher being silent during the test? Well, He was! But He did send messengers by that let us know He was still in control. He might have chosen not to speak to us through words, but He was certainly speaking through deeds!
I'll never forget rolling my wheel chair to the back of the church and thinking "Ok, what are we going to eat this week? There's no money in the account now. We've got to at least feed James. What are we to do?" About that time one of our dearest friends at church walked up to shake my hand. When I put my hand in his and pulled it back there was something in my hand. O man - did my heart ever skip a beat! I just knew there was money in my hand. I slipped it into my purse (yes, without looking) and waited for George to put me in the car. Once there and out of the church parking lot I began digging in that purse! It was a check for $200! I couldn't help but cry as I told George what had just happened. We could buy groceries and pay for James' school lunch for another week or two!
The next week there was another check from another family in our church. And after that, there was a visit from another sweet couple - and another check, this time for $500! Our church secretary called me one week and said there was a check at the church office for us ... it was for $2000! We still don't know where that one came from - well, not the human form anyway. We do know where it was from! Our Father was taking care of us. He was "meeting our need." And then there was the time one of my spiritual daughters called and said she needed to stop by to see me. She brought a check for $500 and said God told her to sow that into us. Another spiritual daughter would take my grocery list to Walmart and refuse payment when she brought the groceries back by.
How can I convince you as I sit here and tell you that time after time, week after week, month after month - our church family and even people outside the church that we had befriended over the years stopped by or mailed us money ... and it was always just in time. Just in time for the school lunch program to be due; just as the telephones were scheduled to be cut off; just as the electricity was going to be cut off - always just in time. If you're doubting this - I have the deposit records to prove it's true.
We were careful to be faithful to tithe on everything that was given to us. I know our tithe record at church looked strange during all of that. There are a number of $20 payments and $50 payments - not consistent amounts, but I was so proud and so eager to put those tithing envelopes in the collection bag. I was so thrilled. To me, it was like bragging on Jesus every time I put a tithing envelope in the bag. It was like rubbing the devil's nose in his own mess every time I was able to pay titles. I couldn't have been more thrilled if I was putting in a $10,000 tithe check. I was so grateful. I was living what the Bible says God will do. How awesome is that!?
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