No matter what talents and abilities you may have, no matter what opportunities come your way, no matter what position in this world you may hold, there are adversities. These trials of life can cause a man to lose hope and turn from the vision that once was so clear in his heart. In the midst of the worst depression, in the midst of the worst health crisis, in the midst of a broken heart, if you allow Him, the Holy Spirit can awaken your spiritual heart to God’s provision, love, and care through trusting in Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) It is Christ’s desire that His disciples have peace in their spiritual hearts, no matter what troubles and conflicts they may face in this world. George Morrison once defined peace as, “the possession of adequate resources.”
In a time of great financial trial and faith building for us, the Lord showed His faithful provision in a simple practical way. In July of 1986 the Lord revealed to me so clearly He wanted my family to know that he cares about every part of our lives. This revelation came as a stray female yellow colored Labrador puppy wandered into our yard. The Lord also revealed to me that it was time for our children to enjoy one of His creations. After returning the puppy to its owner we desired in our hearts to purchase a yellow female Labrador puppy.
In our town was a dog kennel. They had two chocolate colored Labradors. The female had just been covered, which meant in three months there would be puppies.For three months, the boys and I prayed to the Lord every night. We were specific in our prayer request to the Lord. We needed a family dog, loyal, sweet, dependable, and preferably a yellow female Labrador puppy. After praying with the boys every night for three months, I would stop at the bottom of the stairs that led to the boys’ bedrooms. I would ask from my heart for the Lord to answer yes to our prayers, so the boys may know that He cared about every part of our lives.
At the end of the three months, five puppies were born into this world, four chocolate colored males and one yellow colored female. We continued to pray for six weeks for our special request about this puppy. After receiving our new puppy and enjoying her for nearly 13 years, we discovered that the Lord answered our prayer, exactly as we had asked for. What a blessing to see Jehovah-jireh meet our request, meeting a special need in our family with His providential care.
To us, Sandy was more than a wonderful pet, she was a constant reminder that the Lord cared about every part of our lives. When I got laid off of my job, Sandy was right there beside us as we prayed for our financial needs. When I was going through Berean Bible School, Sandy was right there beside us as we prayed for the time and finances needed. When Bonnie was diagnosed with Brain Cancer, Sandy was right there beside us as we prayed as a family. Every time we met together as a family to have special Bible teaching times and family prayer, Sandy was right there beside us. One time after we had prayed, one of the boys said, “Here is Sandy, right beside us to remind us that God cares about everything in our lives.”
Then came that day, when we had to put our beloved Sandy down because of a serious illness. On a Saturday morning, we gathered in our back yard to bury Sandy right beside a large group of flowers. With our hearts broken and in tears, we thanked the Lord as a family in prayer for allowing us to enjoy His provision and for Sandy, a reminder that he cared about everything in our lives.
Even in the death of our beloved pet, the Lord proved Himself Jehovah-jireh in this sin stricken world. We had lived in our new home for about a year and a half. On our back porch was a pile of decorative rocks. I had no use for them and I had intended to haul them off, I just never got to it.
There were just enough rocks to cover the top of Sandy’s grave. There were just enough nice bricks in that pile of rocks to make a cross over the top of Sandy’s grave. When we had placed the rocks and bricks over the grave, I reminded the boys how the Bible says the Lord is Jehovah-jireh. He sees like a prophet and has provided ahead of time to meet our needs.
The home we needed to meet Bonnie’s health crisis sat empty for two years, waiting for us. The pile of decorative rocks with the bricks we needed to place a cross over the grave of our beloved pet sat there for three and a half years. The Cross over her grave reminded us of the Christ who died for us, so we as the children of God may enjoy the Lord as Jehovah-jireh, spiritually and practically in this sin cursed world.
Let the Holy Spirit of Christ prepare your heart so your spiritual eyes may be opened to enjoy His provision in times of crisis, so you can live in the realization of His provision. (Genesis 21:14-19)
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