Jehovah Jirah! God Provides!

“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19 (NIV)

Among my little notes and treasures that I keep tucked inside my Bible, is a grocery list. Why you may ask? Because it is a reminder to me that my God is faithful!
Recently, my husband and I renewed our level of commitment to being wise with our finances. As I sat down one evening to plan out the next morning’s grocery list, I carefully looked at our current supplies. We had company coming for the weekend and I wanted to make sure that we were supplied with healthy necessities for them and the next two weeks until we were paid again. I input the items, quantities and prices into a spreadsheet. I wanted to be organized and prepared to stay within our budget. When the items were all tallied, I was distressed to see the total read $309.00! Now that had items rounded to the nearest dollar so there was “play” in those numbers but it didn’t include any tax.
“Oh, Lord!” I cried. We couldn’t justify $309 on groceries. I went back over the items and the quantities. I guessed we could do without this… or maybe that… All of my adjustments resulted in negligible change. My husband reminded me that he needed deodorant. That hadn’t been on the list. My son came in and asked, “Mommy, can we buy a chapter book for Morgan? She’s been sick all week from school and I want to get her a treat.” I nearly cried! My anxiety started to mount. I calmly told my son to pray about it and ask Jesus for the chapter book but my own faith wasn’t nearly as confident. As everyone made their way off to bed, I retreated to my “spot” and poured my heart out to the Lord.
Psalm 142:1-3 says, “I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who know my way.” I laid out all of the details before Him, though He knew them all. I asked Him to snuggle me in and remind me who He is – my trustworthy Master! As peace descended and I sensed His call to trust Him with our needs, I even dared to ask for a suitable chapter book for Carter’s friend. I felt the Lord ask me to voice the number that I wanted to spend but I struggled to do that. My budget said that I needed to get all of my supplies for under $250 but I couldn’t quite say that number in prayer. It seemed impossible.
The next morning, the kids and I made our way to the grocery store. We were there early so as to get as many of the “good deals” as possible. We started through the store, heading for the day old sections. Not much there. I kept hearing the Lord say “trust Me” and with every ounce of faith within me, I did. We began a methodical shop through the store – one item at a time. As I began stroking items off of the list, a trend started appearing. The things that I needed to buy would read something like this… “First two sale price $3.49, over the limit price $5.50”. You know what else… it wasn’t the “no name” items that were on sale. It was the brand name items that I rarely allowed myself to purchase that were the sale items that day!
We rounded the corner and I saw the beautiful photo frame display that I had been eyeing for the last three months. I had often been tempted to purchase some wall frames for the kids’ new school pictures but it had been the Christmas season and I hadn’t been able to justify the expense. Today, those beautiful frames were on sale for $9.98 each!! I couldn’t believe it! Could I have some, Lord? He seemed to smile as He said, “of course.” I felt Him rewarding me for being patient and waiting when He had told me “not yet” those times before.
My faith was increasing by the time we were half way through the list. As we passed a clearance bucket, I told my son to take a look in it and see what he could find. You guessed it – he found the perfect chapter book! There was only one in the bucket! It was a pretty little book about fairies! Written for a grade 4 girl and even bound in purple – her favorite color! As Carter asked me if we could get it and I passed the question on to the Lord, He answered, “well, you prayed for it!” How sweet!
Who would have thought that a grocery store could have been so full of miracles that day? We rounded another corner and they were just marking down the day old produce… exactly what was needed to complete our list. Taylor picked out pineapple – a real treat! As I unloaded our groceries onto the conveyer belt, I gave up trying to do a mental tally of prices. I knew that many of the items had been sale priced that day but the odd item had been more than I had allotted. A couple of things I had decided to pass on but there had been a couple of items we had picked up instead. I kept back the two frames and the book to pay for out of a separate account. I had a coupon for $30 off your grocery bill when you spent a minimum of $250. As I handed it to the cashier, he said, “I’m sorry, Ma’am, but you haven’t reached $250 yet.” What? I couldn’t believe it. The total read $244. I gave him the frames and book. He rang those through and deducted the coupon. My total WENT DOWN to $238.00!! How great is my God?!! I got everything I needed. I had the two frames that I had eyed for months. Carter had a book for his friend and my daughter had pineapple! How amazing! I choked back the tears as I bagged up our stuff. Why does He care so much? Why do I doubt when He is so faithful?
I could tell you more, you know… there were more miracles that day, like the teller at the bank. God is always more than we can imagine! He is bigger, stronger, more interested, more loving. Every time I think I get a “handle” on who He is He says, “you just think you know Me” and He wows me all over again!
Do you have needs that feel impossible? Today I can tell you that I know with assurance that God is who He says He is and He can do what He says He can do! But for the next time that my faith feels small and anxiety grows large, I’ll pull out that piece of paper that says “$309 $238 with 2 frames, 1 book and pineapple!” Thanks Lord!

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds In Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)

God Still Performs Miracles

I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.
Psalm 77:11, 12 (NIV)

Have you ever cried out to know the God of miracles from days gone by? I have. I wrote in my journal one day “remind me again, Lord, who You are”. My thoughts were drawn to Psalm 77. My heart could relate to Asaph, the writer of that psalm. He cried out to God for help. He cried out to God to hear him. His soul refused to be comforted. He wondered if God had forgotten him - if God had forgotten to be merciful. Then, Asaph made a choice. It was one that I followed that day. Together with Asaph, I chose to remember that God’s ways are holy – so unlike mine. I chose to remember that my God is the same God who performed miracles as He lead His people to display His power. I read of the awesome power of God as He led His people through the sea, I heard myself ask “why don’t You do miracles like that anymore?” Silently, I heard the reply “I do”. Here is the eyewitness account of a modern day miracle as told to me by my mom and verified by my dad, my aunts and many other witnesses.

When my parents were children, 9 and10 years of age, they both attended the Smoland Mission Covenant Church. It was a small Swedish church on the Manitoban prairies. The pastor at that time was a man by the name of Rev. Kenny Englund. About 8 years prior to coming to be their pastor, Kenny had fallen from the roof of a construction project and had broken his back. The result of this fall had not been paralysis (a miracle in itself) but rather had been excruciating migraines day in and day out. For years, though in constant pain, Rev. Englund continued to serve the Lord through preaching. However, the continuous pain took its’ toll on him and he made the difficult decision to leave the ministry. He decided that he would make his announcement from the pulpit the following Sunday. On Thursday of that week, Rev. Englund took a trip to the neighboring town of Neepawa with his friend and fellow pastor from the Anglican Church in Minnedosa. While they traveled, he shared his decision with his friend.
A storm was brewing and by the time the two men headed for home it was a fierce prairie storm. The thunder roared as lightening flashed across the sky. Torrents of rain made it almost impossible to see the road ahead and so the friends pulled the car off to the side of the road to wait out the storm. Suddenly, a bolt of lightening rocketed to earth just outside of the car. There was no mistaking how close it had come as the car trembled with the ferocity of the strike. Unbeknown to anyone but God and Rev. Englund, the migraine stopped. Immediately, it was gone. The unwavering cycle of pain was broken. Unwilling to say anything at that point, the two men finished their trip.

On Sunday morning, it was a much different announcement that was made from the pulpit of that little Swedish church. Rev. Englund was able to declare to his people how God had saved him from leaving the ministry and that he had been completely and totally healed! His testimony had such a profound effect on my mom that when Rev. Englund asked the congregation to think on what they needed to trust God for, my mom knew the answer needed to be “her life” and she asked Jesus to be her Lord and Savior that very day!

You would think that this would be the end of the story but God was not finished demonstrating his mighty power. You see, this miracle only set the stage for God to lead and guide this congregation in another miraculous way. At the time that Rev. Englund was pastor of that little Smoland Church, there was dissension among the people as to whether or not they should stay out in the country or relocate their congregation to the nearby town of Minnedosa. They had been considering the relocation for a fair long time. As always, there were pros and cons to each side and they had been unable to come to a decision. That Sunday, when Rev. Englund announced his healing, one of the members ran home to get his camera so that they could mark this joyous occasion. There are numerous photographs of Rev. Englund shaking hands with his parishioners as they left the church that day. I have seen some of them. In the background, on the wall, there was a poster. It was put there on behalf of the church library to remind people that there were books due. On it there was a drawing of a clock with the simple phrase “Time’s Up!” The time on the poster read 1:50.

The next day, another one of those fierce prairie storms had just let up and my dad, my grandfather and a hired man were headed out to do some work on the farm when they saw smoke rising from the direction of the church. They went, as quickly as they could, to the church to check it out. When they got there, they found the church had been struck by lightening and was being wracked by flames. They dove into action. There was no way to save their church but there were so many things that needed to be saved. They managed to carry out a number of items including some pews, a partially scorched piano and the church clock before the Smoland Mission Covenant Church succumbed to the flames.

The tiny congregation chose to rebuild – in Minnedosa. They felt that God had made the decision for them but they really didn’t know how right they were until they realized that the clock, which was permanently frozen at the time of the lightening strike, read 1:50. Time’s Up! God had spoken. Many of them had the photographs to prove it!

Have you ever read the book of Job? In Job 38:35, God is basically reminding Job who He is. God said, “Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct it?” God can. Two bolts of lightening. Two miracles! Twice God had intervened to lead and guide His people.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die…a time to heal,
A time to tear down and a time to build…
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 2a, 3b (NIV)

His Eye is On The Sparrow

Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground
without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.
Matthew 10:29 (NLT)


One of my favorite stories growing up was one that my mother often told me. It took place when I was a young child and circumstances in Mom and Dad’s life were especially tough. They were in the midst of terrible trials and felt the heavy burden of being very alone. My mom was making frequent trips into town. Along the way, she passed a fence and on it hung the lifeless body of a bird. To fully appreciate the impact this had on my mom, you have to understand that she hates birds. For as long as she can remember, she has had an incredible fear of them. And so, her eyes seemed compelled to search out the dead bird as it dangled from the barbwire fence.

One evening, laden with the cares of the day, she again saw the bird’s body sprawled in suspension from the sharp barbs. She distinctly remembers crying out to God, “Lord, You say that You care for me so much more than You do the sparrows. You say that You see each one fall and yet You don’t even have the decency to remove this one from the fence! How can I trust You to care for me?”

Mom continued on her way. I don’t know how she felt as she managed to get through the commitments she had that night. But the next day, as she once again passed by that old barbwire fence, I know that the bird was gone. It’s absence struck my mom in a profound way. It was like God’s voice could be heard saying, “I saw that little bird. It didn’t escape my notice, but I needed you to notice it so that I could use it to show you how much I care!” You see, if my mom had never seen that dead old bird hanging from that cruel old fence, those words “So don’t be afraid” may never have come to her mind. That promise “the very hairs on your head are all numbered…you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.” would not have been so profound. And the peace of God, which comes from truly resting in His sovereignty and power, may have been a whole lot longer coming.

Isn’t it ironic, that the Lord often uses the ugly and disgusting things that we hate, to gain our attention so that we don’t miss His blessing? We want His blessing so badly that we often miss it just because it doesn’t come in the packaging that we expect. Oh Lord, please help us see Your blessing even in the midst of things that make us want to turn our eyes away!

There is a little song that we sang all of the time as children. It has always been inextricably tied to this story for me.

God sees the little sparrow fall.
It meets His tender view.
If God so loves these little things,
I know He loves me too.
He loves me too. He loves me too.
I know He loves me too.
If God so loves these little things,
I know He loves me too.
Author unknown

A Lesson in Sunshine

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.
Isaiah 30:18

One morning, in the midst of a particularly difficult time in my life, my children and I were ready a few minutes early and so we sat on the couch to snuggle and pray for the day. The sky was dark with clouds and rain was imminent. It was a repeat of the day before and the day before that. It was just dark.

I wanted to teach the kids that we should want what God wants for us each day. And so, we prayed that God would bring into that day what He desired for us and that we would learn what He wanted to teach us. At the end of my prayer, I threw out “and Lord, could You give us a little bit of sunshine?” It was one of those casual statements that you sometimes say in prayer but don’t really expect God to answer. I got up to grab my purse and the knapsacks when all of the sudden, I realized that a glorious beam of sunshine was streaming in the window. Dumbfounded, I went back to my little children who were staring at the sun light. The dark, gray clouds had parted to reveal the brilliance of the sun in the middle of a clear, blue sky. “Look Mommy,” my son said, “God heard our prayer!”

We basked in the sunlight. It seemed to envelope us in its’ warm rays. I breathed deep and drank in the peace and tranquility that seemed to flood the room. The moment was golden. I silently thanked God for His immediate answer to our little prayer. Then, it was time to go.

Within minutes, the clouds returned. The puppy pooped on the floor. The car wouldn’t start. My husband forgot to come and give us a ride. My daughter and I walked my son to school as it began to rain. My kids were late for school. I was late for work. These things would normally make me crazy with frustration yet that morning, it was different. God had heard my prayer. I knew He had because I had seen His sun shine. He had answered within seconds of my asking. I remembered what else I had prayed – that He would bring into this day the things that He wanted for us in order that we might learn. Somehow, there was a reason for all of these obstacles.

When my work was frustrating and someone got their “dig” in at me, I momentarily gave in to the temptation to focus on the problems of the day and not on my God who hears and answers prayer. I was tempted to think coincidence. After all, “it was only a little bit of sunshine”. But I knew. Then, the lesson that God wanted to get across to me started to unfold…

One of my favorite scriptures, Isaiah 30, came to mind. It was a lifeline in that stormy season of my life. The Lord really does long to be gracious to me.1 I desired to see sunshine that morning. It wasn’t a need that I had. God didn’t have to give me my desire but He heard one of His children asking for something and it was His good pleasure to give it. There was nothing that I had done to deserve it. He just gave it. That’s grace!

God’s words continue, “How gracious He will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.” The notes in the margin pointed me to Psalm 66:18. There is a condition for God to hear my prayers. I must not have sin cherished in my heart. The previous few months, my prayers had seemed to bounce back at me from the ceiling. But God and I had been doing some serious business recently. I had been convicted of sinful attitudes and behaviors and had confessed them before the Lord. What an assurance to me that God had forgiven me - He had heard my prayer! And if He had heard my prayer, it reinforced that He would be faithful to the rest of His word too. “Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you (I) turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” Praise the Lord! This was the promise of another answer to prayer. I had been praying, or rather complaining, to God that I couldn’t hear His voice. His guidance seemed far away and impossible to ascertain. That wasn’t to be the case. It was God’s desire that I know His leading.

I was getting more and more excited! The lesson I was learning was coming faster and faster. I had just learned a few days previously that when I focus all of my energies on my problems, I allow them to become idols. Isaiah says, “Then you will defile your idols…and say to them, ‘Away with you!’… And the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.” Just like the clouds rolling back and revealing the sun, the Lord let me see that focusing on my problems, why I had them and how to fix them could not be the center of my existence. But He wasn’t finished there.

It struck me that in order for those clouds to part like that – at just that time, God had to give the command for it to happen. Whoa! That’s power! God, the Creator of the universe, used that awesome, unimaginable power to speak to the clouds and part them – just for me. Why would I ever doubt that such a God would not handle the difficulties that surrounded my life! He just needed to speak the word and the clouds of my life would roll away! If He allowed them to remain, there must be a reason - something left to learn. “Okay, Lord. Teach me!”

God had known that I really wanted some sun to shine that day and in His Sovereign wisdom, He made that sun shine right into my heart. God knew everything that I was going to face that day. It had already passed through His hand. He knew what it would take for me to learn what I needed to learn. I had hurts that needed to be surrendered, idols that needed to be cast down. I needed the reassurance of God’s power, and love and grace. Praise God that He is faithful to His Word. He answers the prayers of His people. He leads and guides. And He cares not only for our needs but for the desires of our hearts.

The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship.
Psalm 19:1