The Lord Provides

We stopped at a gas station late one cold, wintry night. It happened to be the same station that we had pulled in a couple of weeks before when we had a flat tire. At that time, Brock was having difficulty getting out the spare tire because it was the first time he’d changed a flat in our pick-up truck. He didn’t quite know the right procedure and the owner’s manual was not very helpful. Only one driver pulled in to get gas as we were working on our flat. The driver happened to have the same truck as we did. He showed Brock how to manage getting out the spare. That was definitely God!

Now, we were at the same exact gas station and I noticed a car parked in front of us that needed help. Smoke was pouring out of the open hood. As Brock was pumping our fuel, I prayed that the Lord would allow us to return the favor by being able to help the owner of this vehicle. It didn’t look pretty, though. Money was tight for us at the time, so I prayed that if we needed to help them financially, that the Lord would provide.

About that time, I looked up and Brock was walking toward the broke down vehicle. I love that about him. I didn’t have to lean out of the car and tell him to go see if he could help, he went on his own accord. He also went without hesitation. He didn’t stop and think, “What if it’s dangerous?” or “I don’t think that my spiritual gift is to help people out that are broken down.” He just went to them to see if he could help.

Several minutes later Brock came and informed me that the guys were from Mexico and driving to Alabama to work. One of them spoke broken English and basically told him that he was too tired to drive any longer. Their car was old and overheated, so Brock bought them some coolant for $10. After pouring it into the engine, the car started up and could actually drive. They followed us and we checked them into a hotel down the street from where we lived. The hotel was more money than I thought it would be…$68 including tax.

When I went home, I calculated our finances and figured out that we could just afford it, but we couldn’t buy food the next day. It was the 13th of the month and we didn’t get paid again until the 15th, so for the following day, we would have to skip lunch. However, I felt a peace that the Lord would take care of us.

The following morning (which happened to be Valentine's Day), we went to check up on the guys. All that I had left was half of a loaf of bread and a couple of oranges. I stuck this along with a 2/3rd empty container of mustard in a bag. Brock only had 4 bucks in his wallet, so I told him to give the guys the cash in order to buy some lunch meat. The guys were so appreciative. They told Brock that if he had not helped them, they would still be stuck at that gas station. “Thank help you me,” the guy told Brock.

Add up the money we spent on the guys---$10+$68+$4.

On our way out that morning, I grabbed the mail. I sorted through it and all of it was junk mail except one check from our job. It was an expense check that I’d completely forgotten about and had not counted on for our finances. The check was for $82.

The Lord never tells you to do something without providing the way for you to do it. Whether it’s a talent that you need or wisdom or finances, the Lord will not leave you high and dry. He totally will take care of you.

He may be telling you to do something right now. You may think that you are incapable of doing it. You may have lots of excuses why you cannot do it. They may actually be valid excuses, but not for our God. He can overcome all obstacles.