My God Shall Supply All Your Needs
Jean Bundas
So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today – to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul – then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. (Deuteronomy 11:13-14)
The tiny trailer was piled to the max. Everything we owned was either in the trailer or shoved into the car. My husband, Ed, felt called by God to be a youth minister. We were newly married and heading off to Missouri to attend Bible College, our first step of faith in a long journey. We had great expectations.
The baseball coach at the college had made several promises to my husband on the telephone. However, when we arrived at the college, it seemed as if he had never heard of us. No scholarship. No place to live. No job and no money. Not a very promising beginning.
As we turned to leave his office, he hesitated and offered us the address of a friend that managed some rental properties. We took the address and headed out the door. We found the rental properties and the manager informed us he had one opening left. The unit did not have a refrigerator yet, but he promised to have one in place in the next couple days. Not having anywhere else to turn, we agreed to take it and gave him the down-payment. We spent the remainder of the day scraping up goop off the living room floor, washing walls and cupboards and unpacking our belongings. We fell into bed that night exhausted but hopeful.
I woke up some time in the middle of the night needing a drink of water. I made my way through the dark rooms and into the kitchen. As I opened the cupboard to get a glass, I flipped on the kitchen light. Cockroaches scurried in all directions. It was quite a shock for a girl who had grown up in Michigan. First thing the next morning we went out to buy several large cans of RAID.
Several days went by and still no sight of the promised refrigerator. We were running low on money and could not afford to be eating out every night. Another trip to the manager’s front door brought the realization that the refrigerator would not be forthcoming any time soon.
Discouraged and wondering what to do, we headed out for a walk. Through a God-ordained appointment, we met someone who told us about some townhouses just outside of the main town. We took a drive to check them out. They were cleaner, larger and the rent was lower than our current place and, best of all, there was a refrigerator!
We prayed that if this was where we were to move, God would give us favor with the manager of the other facility and he would refund our down-payment. We headed back and once again knocked on the manager’s front door. At first he was hesitant, not wanting to lose a tenant, but soon he agreed and wrote us a check. We loaded up our belongings and moved once again.
This was just the beginning of God’s miraculous provision for us over the next few months.
Ed was hired on in the school cafeteria. The only food they let you eat while on the job was shrimp – Ed’s favorite! The only food that they let you take home at the end of the shift was steak – my favorite! We ate steak and shrimp until we sounded like the children of Israel, complaining about eating the manna each day.
The highlight of our day was watching as the mailman dropped the mail through the slot in the front door. Letters containing checks would fall to the floor and we would run to see who got to open them. God would put it on the hearts of different people to send us money; sometimes it would be enough to put gas in the car, at other times it would be enough to pay the rent, but each and every day our needs were met and we were never late on a payment.
One day, I went to the grocery store. I had enough money to purchase a tiny roast for the two of us. I threw the roast and a couple of potatoes in the crock-pot and went about my day. A short time before dinner, there was a knock at the door and there stood three men we knew from Michigan. Ed invited them in and asked them to join us for dinner. These were three big guys! How in the world were we going to feed them? Our cupboards were bare; it was not like I could grab an extra pack of hotdogs or open a bag of chips or even run to the store and pick up something else for dinner. I felt like the woman in the Bible who had been asked to use her last cup of oil and little bit of flour to prepare a cake for her visitor.
The five of us joined hands around the table and Ed asked God to bless the food and to bring the increase. We began to eat. And eat. And eat. We ate until everyone was satisfied and never ran out of food.
Another day, I wanted to prepare a special dessert for Ed. There was only one problem: I did not have all the required ingredients and no money to go and buy them. I put everything I had into a big bowl and asked the Lord to bless it and make it delicious. I stirred it all together and poured it into a pan to bake in the oven. It turned out to be one of the best desserts I have ever made.
We had taken a step of faith to pursue the calling of God on our lives and He was faithful to meet us every step along the way. He did not always reveal His plan ahead of time, but His plan was never late.
Perhaps God is calling you to step out of the boat and trust Him in your walk. Take that step of faith, even if it is only one step at a time.
Heavenly Father, we commit ourselves to You. Calm our fears and give us the boldness to step out of the boat and walk on the water with You. Help us to keep our eyes set on You and to walk in faith, even if it is a step at a time. Thank You for Your awesome provision and for teaching us to wait on You. Amen.
