One of the greatest joys we have experienced in the journey of this past year of following God’s call on our lives has been seeing Him confirm again and again that we have heard Him speak. This past Sunday I had had a rough day because Keaton and I both had fever. I was tired and frustrated and really discouraged about going out and doing ministry, even though this was our last week and we had just returned from a very incredible time of ministry in Iligan.
I went down to get some water from the purified water dispenser prior to going to bed only to find that there was no purified water anywhere. Even the machine wasn’t where it would normally be. There was a woman who works where we are staying there so I asked her if we could get the water dispenser set back up. nearby was an elderly filipino gentleman. After I spoke he asked me, “do i detect an American accent.”
I had hardly noticed him at all. He sought me out for a discussion. Three minutes later, after briefly telling him our story as missionaries and former lives as an attorney and an occupational therapist, he tells me that he is from Los Angeles and is just there doing business. He has to leave the next morning because his mother has passed away in America and he is flying home for the funeral. He then buys me six bottles of water and pulls out his wallet to hand me a crisp $100 US bill. I was floored.
What really made this amazing was just two days before Tara and I had told an elementary school pricipal in Iligan that we would buy fifty uniforms for children in their school who couldn’t afford to buy a uniform. Guess how much that was going to cost! ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS OF COURSE!
God just confirmed that he had directed us to give to the school on behalf of the children and then made us a channel of blessing. With one hand we gave $100, and with the other God filled it from a source we never could have imagined. It is times like those where we just stop and praise God for His intense and passionate care for us–that He cares about our every day lives and is giving us directions to live by. When and how to give, where and how to go, what our ministry should be, EVERYTHING! Why else would he tell us to trust in Him with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding… why else would He tell us that as sheep following the Great Shepherd we can hear and know His voice!
It is humbling. And it is amazing how quickly we forget and live without seeking His voice and call, but when we do hear His voice and He blesses our obedience so quickly it truly overwhelms us. And I know I must write down such moments for my own memories of the great things He has done! Just like the psalmist of Psalm 107 wrote of things the Lord had done for the Israelites and then praised God with these words:
8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE THE LORD!