Do you believe in miracles? I do. Love is a miracle and I have seen plenty of miraculous things in the job that I do. I've witnessed the miracle of healing, the miracle of resurrection and the miracle of being spared. In the last 2 and a half years, since I devoted my life fully to the Lord, I have discovered what some make think is ordinary circumstance, but in my humble opinion is miraculous. It is the miracle of having just enough.
Before Christ, I learned that material wealth is meaningless. It's just stuff. I started learning this when my dad died. Life is far more valuable than stuff. Several years after he died, while I was living in Spain, I had a pretty major car accident. I was with R, who was just 3 years old at the time. I was driving 50 mph and rounded a corner. R asked me a question and I looked at him for just a second and when I looked back to the road, there was a car in my path crossing the intersection! I slammed on the breaks and we crashed into the car. This was the cause of my original back injury that plagues me today. I looked over at R, who was crying and asked,"Mommy, did we crash?" By the grace of God, we all walked away from that accident without major injury. All I cared about was the 3 of us. It was just a stupid car, I could always get another. There have been other various things through the years to help me learn not to be materialistic. There's the old cliche, "when you die you can't take it with you" to contemplate as well. While I learned stuff is unimportant, I didn't learn the opposite of keeping stuff is to give it away. Thankfully, I've learned that since devoting my life to the Lord.
I've learned to give with joy. It started with tithing. I never understood tithing until our pastor taught us from the word of God what it means to tithe. I always thought it was just the church's way of guilting me into supporting them. Now I know that everything I have belongs to God and I would have nothing if He hadn't given it to me. To give back to God is to give to Him what He already owns anyway. It has helped me to learn to trust in Him for my provision. I have learned to give to the poor and I have been more blessed by giving because giving has led to wonderful friendships I would never have had otherwise. I have learned that to give is to be obedient to God and that obeying God leads to blessings from God because He blesses those who follow His commandments.
So what is the miracle of just enough? Before Christ, I used to worry constantly about my paycheck being direct deposited all the time. After Christ, that worry was miraculously gone. I just assumed my checks were there, they had always been there before. I started tithing 10% and when the car would break down I would pray for the bill to be small and get the estimate and discover I had just enough to pay for the repairs. I had a hospital stay in 2006 and shortly after I was at the Refuge and I promised a homeless man I would bring him special food because he had his jaw wired shut from an assault. He needed soft food and protein shakes. The day after I made this promise, I got the hospital bill and my car insurance bill on the same day. They added up to a hefty sum and I cried and asked God what I was going to do. The day after this I went to the store and spent $40 dollars on supplies for the homeless man and I thought I must be crazy when I needed money for those bills. But I made a promise. The day after that, I came home from work and happened to see a commercial that reminded me of an account I had forgotten about for almost 2 years. I thought to myself, "no! could there be money there?" I checked the account and discovered there was just enough money to pay those bills! Most recently, a girl I know was heading to Haiti on a mission trip. I felt led to give her a check for support and I obeyed that leading. I am staying in my current apartment and had to find out if I had enough to make the necessary deposits and pay the rent up front. I found another account that was forgotten and it has just enough for the deposit and first month's rent. While I was worrying about this, I heard the still small voice say, "trust God." Then this week I realized I would be in trouble for the month of July because of starting the new job, paycheck irregularities of a new job and what not. I have had all this in prayer, of course. Yesterday, I checked my account and discovered the government incentive check was direct deposited and now I have just enough to cover the deposit and the first 2 months of rent!
God is good all the time! For those of you who don't know the Lord, this will seem like mere coincidence, but ask anyone who loves the Lord and I'm sure they will be in agreement with me. This is the miracle of just enough!
Philippians 4
10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
Proverbs 30
7 Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, "Who is the LORD?"
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.2 Corinthians 9
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written,
"He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."
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