"Faith of a Little Seed"

(by Big Tent Revival)



Do you mind if I brag on my awesome God a little bit? I should have posted this a couple of weeks ago, but I was so busy with Christmas & all. I never want to forget how good He is to me though, and I feel like I don't give Him enough credit for all that He has done for me. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned our journey towards financial freedom a time or two. (There are a few more posts, but I won't bore you with all of them). I could tell many stories of the times that God has provided for us in amazing ways! Just before Christmas, He provided for us in such a way that I had to chuckle a little...

See, for the past few years, we had some money that would come in quarterly to provide for things like HOA dues, taxes (at least a little bit of them), back-to-school expenses and Christmas. This year, things didn't quite work out that way, plus we had the added expense of some car repairs that wiped out our emergency fund. [Disclaimer: this is in no way intended for you to pity our situation or anything! We are fine! Yes, we have some debt to pay off, and I greatly anticipate the day that I can tell you that we are debt free! But for now, we are on a tight budget that I try very hard to stick with. God is providing more than we need for our monthly expenses, and all extra is going toward our debt. We are making progress, and I am cautiously optimistic that this will be the year that we pay everything off except for the house!]

Enter the holidays. Starting at around Thanksgiving, I became very discouraged about our financial situation. I felt like we had made such a big dent in our debt over the summer but had barely made a scratch in the fall. We didn't have the money I typically counted on for Christmas, and I knew of other expenses coming up that we had no money for. Then there was the fact that we still hadn't been able to replenish our emergency fund. I sorta moped around about it for a couple of weeks, and then I realized that God was doing something that He had done so often a few years back: giving us each day our daily bread. We had a full pantry & freezer, so I'm not talking actual bread, but He was providing for Christmas a few presents at a time. And He continued to provided enough money to buy gifts for all of our family. We still had some other expenses looming, but I could see that He was providing. For Christmas, at least.

So I had a heart-to-heart talk with Him one day. I told Him that I knew He could provide, and I just really needed Him to do that for me! I told Him exactly how much I needed and when I needed it (as if He didn't already know)! I also reminded Him that there really wasn't anything I could do about it, seeing as the kids were getting out of school for Christmas break (and I couldn't do anything to earn any money before the expenses were due). I wasn't mad at Him when I told Him these things--I wasn't even complaining--I was simply stating the facts & giving up control. There was nothing else I could do. I couldn't rearrange anything else in the budget, and I couldn't make money magically appear in our account! So I gave up. And guess what? He came through!

Through my mister's mad bass-playing skills, some work he did for a friend and an unexpected bonus, God provided every penny that I had asked Him for. And guess what else? He tossed in an extra $25! And that made me chuckle, because that's so like Him! I think it was a subtle reminder that He can do more than I ask. Oh sure, He could've done even more. And He has in the past. But that's not what I needed in the moment. And that's just one of the reasons why I think He's super awesome!

Amy

Comments

Brooke said…
love it! i don't think we brag on Him nearly enough!!
Zion said…
You can brag on God as much as you want. That is so cool. Sometimes we have to get specific with God, for lots of reasons, but sometimes I think it is because it makes us more aware when he answers that need. This is a good reminder for me.
Amanda said…
I think it's a very healthy habit to develop to write down the ways that God has blessed us. Not only is it encouraging to others to read, but its a reminder that we can look back at in our low times and know that God does always come through! Thanks for the encouragement! :)

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