Do We Know The Way to God's Promised Land?

Double Portion by Janice VanCronkhite. View more at: www.jvcartworks.com

It's been tougher than usual, the Land Rover has been in the shop for four weeks it seems and the insurance company is trying to get out of paying for the repairs.... it never ends.... that coupled with the lack in the bank account has just brought me to a desperate place... thankfully the Lord is always there, ready, expecting me and willing to hold me and assure me that somehow we will get through.

The Land Rover was in for repairs due to an accident our kids were in four weeks ago. They left our house to go to a birthday party on Friday night. Someone started following them, hooting their horn and acting like they should pull over. The kids didn't recognize the car so for safety sake did not pull over. Further down the street at the traffic light the driver of the following car pulled to the left of them and pointed a gun out the window. The girls screamed and our son stopped. The other car pulled around them, then seemed to stop as if he was going to reverse back toward them. Our son did the only thing he knew to do, make a u-turn and get out of there. Unfortunately someone had pulled into his blind spot and they collided.

Natasha was telling me a story of how Taku asks for this or for that and she has to tell them 'we don't have funds for that". His reply, "Mommy, we always 'never have.' Why?" Natasha told him it was so that we would know how much God has for us and how timely he is in providing it. Although when Taku wants a toy or a sweet there isn't always available funds, Wednesday Taku needed a red t-shirt to wear to school next day. Everyone would be wearing red t-shirts for Aids Awareness Day. He didn't have one. But that day Natasha had been given some extra money and she told Taku that when we depend upon God for all he supplies. She was able to show him that God had made allowance for him, knowing that he would need that day and because they had extra they could go to the shop and buy a red t-shirt for Taku. She reminded him that when he needed shoes 'Uncle' Ned had bought them for him because we had the extra. What a wonderful lesson, out of the mouths of babes.

Our spiritual father, David, always says, 'it's just okay' and points us to the Father who cares for us. We don't get everything we want when we want it, but He supplies when the need arises because He knows our needs better than we know them ourselves and knows just when we need it most. Amazing how he orchestrates it in just the right time, too! And when we participate with Him, recognizing He's giving us an opportunity He gets all the more glory and is able to assure kids like Taku and big kids like us that not only does He know, but He cares.

Yesterday I had the best day in prayer with some wonderful Congolese women. We prayed and prayed for Cape Town and for Natasha and for one another. Ned had had a hard day with the insurance company once again. The owner of the company who was going to repair our car asked Ned, "Why are we met with such opposition? What's God saying to us?" Ned was realizing he needed to go work with the guys on repairing the car to help us save money and that it would afford time for the two of them to discover together what God just might be saying. He'd already known the man was investigating this God of ours.

I was telling Ned about our prayer time and what some of the women had heard the Lord say when he asked, "How did they get there?" I said, "I don't know, the train or taxi, I guess. Why?" "We don't have gas or money to put in the gas tank right now." That short conversation pulled the rug of security and encouragement I'd been previously kneeling upon right out from under me. Burst my faith bubble, you might say. I knew there was no way we were heading to the grocery store to supply for our house church dinner last night! Good thing I'd already thought ahead and started spaghetti sauce and that we had two packages of pasta! There was a little frozen bread in the freezer and I could make a pitcher of iced tea as we still had tea bags and sugar. So there we were! And someone else brought along a bottle of juice. I had to ask Laura to bring home some milk and parmesan cheese to complete the meal and she was delighted as it meant she had to go to the store to cheer up someone who'd been on her heart.

We had a wonderful dinner, and a lovely evening of worship. Last week we had challenged one another to ask Holy Spirit what was God wanting to do for the guys that beg at the traffic lights. Each of us are met by these guys every day, what was God interested in doing/saying to them? That was our challenge. And everybody had an awesome story... from Ilke deciding to buy 5 bags of mielie meal, which is corn meal, to have in her car to give away to Evan and Debbie's story of Evan just taking the guy's hand and crying out to God for him right there at the traffic light. Debbie had been scared, she didn't know what might happen as a result, would the guy hit him or what? To her surprise and Evan's delight he was transformed, someone cared and someone prayed for him. Wow! Donovan shared that he didn't really want anyone to even come close to his car but he also realized that acknowledgement meant so much to these men and God could use it for good in their lives. Laura's story wasn't at the traffic light but the parking attendant at the grocery store who never looks or speaks. The week before Laura couldn't pay the fee and plead for mercy, which was given even though the woman was skeptical. Laura promised a cold drink next time. There was awe when Laura showed up with her cold drink yesterday that broke into such a grand smile the woman was hiding behind her hand! Then Laura pulled out a bag of treats and gave them to her. The woman was so pleased, thanked her and said she would take those to her kids. Debbie told of the guard at the gate of the American International School. Evan and Ned had some slight run-ins with her because they didn't have a key card to open the gate. They had to fill out forms each time Evan went to teach, she usually wasn't pleasant. Debbie's mom found out she was really going through a hard time, trying to get a home so she could get her kids back with her, etc. Charmaine was on a bike ride and an older, black man had been on the way to work on his bike but it had broken down. The wheel was all wobbly and needed repair. Charm couldn't fix the bike but could call his employer to tell what happened. She reached the employer's daughter who ended up coming to pick him up. He not only didn't lose his job, but got a ride to work and I suspect will end up with a newer, stronger bike to ride if I know Charmaine and Donovan. Long story short, we found compassion once again in the needs of others. You never know how small things might speak to those who seem so unimportant in your world, they just may be important to God in that moment and in great need. What's the golden rule? Do unto others as you would like to have it done unto you? But Martha and I agreed that often we are so caught up in our own stuff we not only miss the opportunity to be mindful of the needs and concerns of others but also miss hearing God's desire for the moment and the situation, don't we?

Amazing how often our own circumstances point us to the needs and concerns of others, particularly when we ask God: "what are you saying/doing here, Lord?" Then there are also those who will say, 'when were you in prison or sick or hungry or naked and we didn't help you, Lord?' That's not us, though, right?