Jehovah Jireh - The Lord Will Provide

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

It never ceases to amaze me the way God provides. Nothing is too small or too insignificant. With Thanksgiving now behind us, what I am most thankful for is a God that loves me so much that He provides for all my needs as only He can.

Thanksgiving in our house this year wasn't exactly traditional. Actually, it was just like any other day. I went grocery shopping and did a few loads of laundry in the morning and then headed to church to decorate the sanctuary for a wedding that was taking place on Friday. I finished decorating, headed to Marybeth's house for dessert, and then ran home to fix dinner for me and Nick... Barbequed ribs and cornbread! (Like I said... it was just an ordinary day.)

I spent Friday helping Vickie decorate the Family Life Center for the wedding reception. We still needed a few items so I had to run around looking for what we needed... during the busiest shopping day of the year!

Thanksgiving could have been rough but God kept me so busy that my mind couldn't wander down the dark path. It was filled with wedding decorations and errands. In fact, I'm not even sure I would say we noticed that it was Thanksgiving. God provided... He provided a distraction and a sense of purpose.

I ended up spending about $100 on wedding decorations. My gift to the bride and groom was my time. The expense was not in my budget and I was told to save my receipts as the grooms family would reimburse me for my expenses. However, as more last minute items were needed, they were already over budget and I knew that the extra expense would be difficult for them. If decorating the sanctuary would not have been my gift, I would probably have spent about $25 on a wedding gift so Vickie thought that I should turn in the receipts for the extra $75 that I spent. I got my receipts together and set them by my purse, intending to bring them to church with me yesterday. However... when I was getting ready for church, I felt God telling me NOT to bring the receipts.

OK - I have Christmas shopping looming before me and other expenses like driver's education for Nick. The extra $75 would be a bit of a hardship but I certainly wasn't going to argue with God. He asks that we trust Him and I do. Therefore, I did not bring the receipts to church nor did I tell the grooms parents how much I spent.

Right before I left church, I woman from our women's Sunday School class came up to me and placed a folded up check in my hand. She completely caught me off guard and I didn't even look at it. I kind of assumed that it was for something specific and that I was simply to pass it along. I walked into Vickie's Sunday School classroom and opened the check. My jaw dropped as I realized that the check was made out to me and that it was in the amount of $75! Of course it was for $75... any other amount would not have revealed God's perfect provision. He provides exactly what we need, exactly when we need it and sometimes in the most unexpected way.

Now that I have survived another Thanksgiving... I am very grateful for Jehovah Jirah - the Lord Who Provides - for keeping me so busy that I didn't have time to think about what I didn't have; for allowing me to help with a wedding - a wonderful, joy-filled, hopeful event; and for placing people in my life that truly are His hands, His feet, and His heart.

I pray that the one who placed the $75 in my hand will be blessed abundantly knowing that God used her to provide for my needs. And, I pray for each of you to recognize a very real, very tangible God working in your life in the big and in the small ways. Nothing is too insignificant to God if it isn't insignificant to his beloved children.

Sweet Blessings,
LeAnn