We were late, way late on paying our rent. We had been
married for less than a year, and we were still learning about the importance
of the word ‘budget’. All week long I had felt sick about the fact that we could
not pay the one important bill we had each month. I knew my husband was even
more anxious about it, which hurt me even more. I prayed all day, every day, asking God to
help us get through this hurdle.
I remember the feeling in my stomach on that Friday night
when my husband walked in the door from his trip. We were excited to see each
other, but the feeling of ‘how are we going to pay rent this month’ loomed over
us. He asked me if I had checked the mail that day. I told him that I actually
had not checked the mail all week. Silly I know, but for some reason I was
afraid there would be some giant letter in the box that would pop out at me
yelling “YOUR LATE!”
While hubby walked down the 3 flights of stairs to the
mailbox I prayed again: “God, I don’t know what to do, I surrender, please take
over." My husband gets back to the apartment and plops down on the couch with a
big stack of while envelops. I pretend to be studying for my midterms as he is
going through the stack of bills. He is quiet for a while and then says
“unbelievable." “Oh no, this is bad” I think to myself.
Then, my husband says
something that really is unbelievable. “We were overcharged for something, so
they sent us a check…..it is for the exact amount of our rent."
Some people would call that good fortune, chance, or a lucky
break. I call it God. There is not a doubt in my mind that the check was given
to us by God’s love and grace. The thing that makes me laugh is the date on the
letter. It had been sitting in our mailbox since Monday. All week long, I had
been begging God for help, for a miracle. I had been asking for forgiveness for
being irresponsible with finances and had been feeling stuck, helpless. I knew
that God heard my prayers, but I didn’t believe with certainty that everything
would be OK.
I didn’t have enough trust and faith in God to go to sleep
in peace. Every night that I tossed and turned in our bed worrying about this
unpaid bill, God was saying to me “I have a plan, I have an alternate route." I
can just picture God now, looking down on me as I tossed and turned in my bed,
saying “Trust Me! I am taking care of you! Go to your mailbox, find the check that
is waiting for you, then please go to sleep!”
That particular week, my husband and I faced a mountain and
God offered us an airplane ride over it. God hears our every prayer and will
provide us with whatever we need to endure hardships. Sometimes, the answered
prayer appears to be very tangible (like getting a check in the mail). Other times, God provides us with strength,
bravery, peace and security as we endure hardships. Sometimes we get airplane
rides, and sometimes, we have to walk through the prickly forest. Either way,
God is with us, answering our prayers and providing us with everything we need.
It is essential that we have faith and trust in what God is
doing in our lives. Sometimes we have to go through hardships, learn lessons,
and be disciplined by God in order to grow into the people God created us to
be.
Keep your eyes open and your faith big. You never know when
God has paved a direct path through whatever obstacle you are facing. Don’t
ignore God and let that path get grown over with weeds. Don’t ignore God and
let those resources of strength and bravery disappear. Tap into God’s unlimited
resources. They are there for you; God is there for you, always.
“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew
me out of deep waters. He rescued me
from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me” (Psalm
18:16-17).
I love this video, and I found it fitting for today's post. I hope you check it out.
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