It was the second week of the month. This had been a slim month, income wise. Both ministry support and business income had been extremely low. Here we were, not even to the middle, and almost out of money.
Have you been there? More month left at the end of the money?
But we still hadn’t sent our monthly giving check to the children’s home we support in Jalisco, Mexico.
My husband and I discussed what to send and decided on what seemed like a large amount, given the circumstances.
Doing the Hard Thing
We would be faithful to our commitment and send it, we decided, and then do whatever we had to do to cut back or do without the rest of the month.
I opened PayPal, entered the amount, and clicked send. I also sent a quick note to the ministry letting them know it was there, and then closed the computer and went to bed.
As I lay there, trying to sleep, a million anxious “what if’s” floated around in my head…
I think I often mis-use my God-given imagination this way: conjuring up all the “could happen” scenarios, instead of focusing on what I know to be truth in this circumstance.
The Lord graciously brought these verses to mind:
But my God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory, by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. I Thessalonians 5:24
And with those Scriptures, he reminded me that…
In that moment I had a choice.
I could choose to continue to worry, probably not sleep well for it, and wake up exhausted and out of sorts the next day.
Or, I could choose to praise him for his promises. His promised provision, his faithfulness. Thank him for the privilege of helping others with the funds he entrusts us with, and ask his help to trust him for our needs the rest of the month.
A Modern Day Miracle
The next day, as I was checking email, I was surprised to see a PayPal notification. We weren’t expecting anything today. Our clients’ next payments were not until the first of the month.
I opened our account to find a gift deposit in the exact dollar amount as the gift we’d sent to the children’s home the night before, from a friend of our ministry who’d never sent us money before (or since).
The Lord is good, and my eyes were wet with thankful tears as I ran to tell my husband of the modern day miracle we’d just received.
What about you?
Have you had times of financial famine, when it was hard to trust the Lord? Difficult to obey and do the hard thing?
You can choose to worry and be anxious, or choose to trust and praise.
The Lord always provides for what he asks us to do. I believe he does this, so that we will share the story of his glory, provision and power with others who need to believe him and find hope in their own lives as well.
In your situation, what is the truth you know about God? And based on that truth, what is it he is asking you to do?
My devotional book In Spite of Myself: How Intentional Praise Can Transform Your Heart and Home stems from the lessons I've learned in choosing to praise, intentionally, as a wife, overseas missionary, homeschool parent and business owner. Click here to follow the #IChoosePraise hashtag on social media for information on the book.