Feed Your Faith Part 2

Years ago, my husband Jack and I packed up our four children six and under and headed off to seminary in Kansas City.  We were stepping out in faith.  We had prayed separately and came back together and realized we had both heard the same guidance.

1.        I was to stay home with the children.

2.       We were not to ask anyone for anything, and God would provide.

3.       We were not to use government aid.

Let me emphasize this was the journey God put us on to prepare and refine us.  It is not more spiritual than if God had told me to get at job, send out support letters and take advantage of the WIC program.  It was just what God was of asking us and we were called to be obedient to that journey. Listening to the Lord and getting God’s desired path for you is crucial and then obedience to it is your assignment. I’ll write more of that journey at another time.  We graduated from seminary debt free (except for some medical bills from an emergency surgery Jack had.  These bills were paid off a couple of months after graduation.)

We were excited for our new journey and the new baby we were expecting.  We then entered a season of a bad diagnosis over the baby and many tests.  (Again, a story for another time.) After healthy Luke was born, we had about $5000 in unpaid medical bills.  I called the hospital to set up a payment plan.  I explained we were people who paid our bills but couldn’t do it at the rate they were requesting.  She asked how much money we made and how many were in our family.  She went on to explain there was a government program we could use, and it would not only pay the bills we still owed, but also reimburse us for every medical bill that we had paid in the pregnancy.  It sounded too good to be true, until I felt a little twinge.  Oh wait, what had the Lord told us about taking government aid?  I told the lady I would have to get back to her.  As Jack and I talked we knew we were facing another test.  Would we obey what the Lord had told us? I called back the next day and told the lady we couldn’t be involved in the program.  She thought we were crazy and declared, “You will have to pay every penny of this bill!” I remember knowing I was in a crisis of faith.  God had asked us to go on this journey and had supplied for us the past three years.  I remember saying to myself and to the Lord, “I trust you Lord, I think.”

About three weeks later, a lady came up to me and said she felt like the Lord had told her to give us 5000 dollars.  She continued, “Do you need 5000 dollars?”  I was so excited to share the story and thank her for her kindness and generosity.

Dear Lord, thank you for guiding us and providing for us.  Help us Lord to seek you for the path you want us to walk in the days ahead. Lord, we will not assume we are to do what others are doing, but to seek you for the path you have for us.  We choose to obey you and trust you.  You are faithful.

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.

I Samuel 15:22