#TestimonyTuesday: Unexpected Relief
Sometimes life can seem a bit unbearable. We wonder how much more we can take.
Well, today’s testimony is really about reaching that point of breaking, only for God to step in, in the way only He is capable of doing, and offering some Unexpected Relief. Although, when you know Jesus, there’s nothing unexpected about it, whatsoever…
Unexpected Relief
As pieces of scripture go this is quite a well known one, although it is often used rather unwisely.
It is not a get rich scheme where you simply repeat it until money arrives. That would be a total misinterpretation of this verse and the whole of scripture. What it does mean, however, is that ‘Where God Guides, He Provides’; if He asked us to do something He will always provide for us to be able to do that:
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)Another piece of scripture which serves as a great reminder to all of us is this one, from the book – and prophet – Isaiah:1But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
Isaiah 43:1-3a (NLT)
Those two pieces of scripture from the bible really offer me constant, and great, comfort.
As a family we’ve never struggled with the burden of wealth. But we’ve never gone without either. “Fair to middlin” would be a phrase we could use a lot. But sometimes things come along which tip us a little bit too far over the edge.
This happened again for us recently: an amount of money suddenly disappeared from our income. It was unexpected and not something we could plan for; it pushed us into a very difficult place!
We got some folks praying for us straight away – our go to response! But God, as ever, already had a plan which was in place which we had not yet seen.
One phone call later and someone had offered us just a tiny bit more than we had just lost. I love it when God ‘shows off’ like that – not just meeting our needs, but more. He is a generous Heavenly Father.
At one level we’re no further forwards. We’re simply back to where we were before we lost that money. But that is still progress, because we really had hit a wall that we could not overcome. With all the increases in fuel for the car, food for the cupboards and heating/cooking costs, we’re certainly still wondering how we’ll make the Spring. But, we also know that God has called us to live in a specific home, for Jo to do a specific job, and for us to live a certain lifestyle that involves Home Education of our three boys and providing for everything needed for the BerryBunch.family Ministry.
But, after all is said and done, there was really nothing unexpected about God’s actions: as a family we have repeatedly observed God stepping in, and we trust Him to catch us when we fall, whether that is falling because the earth has suddenly given away under our feet, or because we have stumbled over something because we had taken our eyes off Jesus.
Andy B