Jehova-jireh: God will Provide
In the Old Testament, Israelites would use different names to describe God's character. Most of the time, it was as a result of the Lord meeting a need. One of His many names is Jehova-jireh and it means God will provide. The first place you find it used is in the story of Abraham being told by God to go sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen. 22). At the very last second, God provided an animal for Abraham to substitute instead. The story is a great illustration of how God responds to a faithful servant.
This past year God has proven himself "Provider" over and over again. Even in the little things. When He showed himself in such ways, at times I was completely amazed by what He had done! I literally would smile at just how awesome He was and what He accomplished... Mike would laugh and say, "Why are you so amazed? You should expect it!" And he's right--I should have expected it. Sometimes, it takes me a while to learn.
There are some who believe in random events and coincidences. I am not one of them. There is a saying, "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous." I don't believe God wants to remain anonymous. I believe He wants to work in our lives and He wants us to know (under no uncertain terms) that it is He who is working! He wants to dazzle you. He wants to move mountains for you! He wants to become the desire of your heart to give you the desires of your heart!
I ended the last post with a "cliff hanger" of sorts. Mike and I had closed on our home and were supposed to be moved out by the end of January 2010. It gave us about three months to find a place to rent. Mind you, we were looking over the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's holidays and we set ourselves on a pretty tight budget. (Not to mention a missions trip to Venezuela and two weeks in Washington thrown in the mix.) To complicate matters, we had a pregnant pup! Yep, our dog, Jasmine, gave birth to a littler of 9 puppies three days after Christmas. We had some connections in the rental industry, so we thought we wouldn't have any problems. Just over one week before our deadline and we still didn't have a place to go. We never stopped to consider the effect the housing market crash had on the rental industry!
Mike was calm--he said God would answer our prayer and we would find the place He wanted us to be. (I am a little ashamed to admit, I did not approach the problem with his confidence! I figured I needed to help Him along...) When all other avenues seemed exhausted, Mike got a phone call from a friend to look at a possible kitchen remodel. The house was in downtown Colorado Springs. When he got there to look at the place, he learned the house was a rental and had suffered a water leak in the basement. (The carpet had been torn up and the owner said she wanted it replaced and the kitchen updated before renting again.) This was exactly the kind of place we were looking to rent--location and all! We made a phone call and talked with the owner. We told her we wanted to move in immediately and could care less wether the kitchen was updated and we would prefer to leave the carpet out!
For us, it feels like God always waits until the "last minute" to act. But His timing is absolutely perfect! The best part of the story.... Right around Christmas 2008, my sister-in-law, Denise, were downtown to look at all the nicely decorated houses--one was a block away from the rental. We prayed around the neighborhood for God to give Mike and I direction and show us what He wanted us to do!
The fact is, the only way we are here in Costa Rica, debt-free, is because God made it happen!
This past year God has proven himself "Provider" over and over again. Even in the little things. When He showed himself in such ways, at times I was completely amazed by what He had done! I literally would smile at just how awesome He was and what He accomplished... Mike would laugh and say, "Why are you so amazed? You should expect it!" And he's right--I should have expected it. Sometimes, it takes me a while to learn.
There are some who believe in random events and coincidences. I am not one of them. There is a saying, "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous." I don't believe God wants to remain anonymous. I believe He wants to work in our lives and He wants us to know (under no uncertain terms) that it is He who is working! He wants to dazzle you. He wants to move mountains for you! He wants to become the desire of your heart to give you the desires of your heart!
I ended the last post with a "cliff hanger" of sorts. Mike and I had closed on our home and were supposed to be moved out by the end of January 2010. It gave us about three months to find a place to rent. Mind you, we were looking over the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's holidays and we set ourselves on a pretty tight budget. (Not to mention a missions trip to Venezuela and two weeks in Washington thrown in the mix.) To complicate matters, we had a pregnant pup! Yep, our dog, Jasmine, gave birth to a littler of 9 puppies three days after Christmas. We had some connections in the rental industry, so we thought we wouldn't have any problems. Just over one week before our deadline and we still didn't have a place to go. We never stopped to consider the effect the housing market crash had on the rental industry!
Mike was calm--he said God would answer our prayer and we would find the place He wanted us to be. (I am a little ashamed to admit, I did not approach the problem with his confidence! I figured I needed to help Him along...) When all other avenues seemed exhausted, Mike got a phone call from a friend to look at a possible kitchen remodel. The house was in downtown Colorado Springs. When he got there to look at the place, he learned the house was a rental and had suffered a water leak in the basement. (The carpet had been torn up and the owner said she wanted it replaced and the kitchen updated before renting again.) This was exactly the kind of place we were looking to rent--location and all! We made a phone call and talked with the owner. We told her we wanted to move in immediately and could care less wether the kitchen was updated and we would prefer to leave the carpet out!
For us, it feels like God always waits until the "last minute" to act. But His timing is absolutely perfect! The best part of the story.... Right around Christmas 2008, my sister-in-law, Denise, were downtown to look at all the nicely decorated houses--one was a block away from the rental. We prayed around the neighborhood for God to give Mike and I direction and show us what He wanted us to do!
The fact is, the only way we are here in Costa Rica, debt-free, is because God made it happen!
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