" 'Test me on this,' says the Lord God Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.' " (Malachi 3:10b)
One of the first "official" dates we had, Peter took me to see "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." I quickly found out, sitting next to him in the lounge-style, Jerry Lewis Theater, that British humor is a bit, shall we say, "off." I could barely understand their accents, let alone catch the punch lines or make sense of the plot. But, it's one of those classic quotable movies, filled with one-liners that seem funnier hours after you've left the theater.
Our favorite scene is where Sir Lancelot is trying to convince his son Herbert there are benefits to marrying a girl of which Herbert has no interest. They're standing in front of an open castle window, curtains blowing and Sir Lancelot surveying the land outside says, "One day lad, all this will be yours!"
"What? The curtains?" asks Herbert.
"No, not the curtains, lad! All you can see stretched out over the hills and valleys of this land. That'll be your kingdom, lad," Sir Lancelot explains.
Weeks have passed since I mentally put away the knights, the pawns, my queen and the king of my cosmic chess board. I'm not playing games anymore. So, prayerfully, I've placed our full tithe in the offering plate for over a month. God has stood next to me at the open window of my heart and said "Test me in this...test me to see if I will not provide for all your needs and bless you beyond your imagination." I wasn't interested in testing God. There were enough examples in my past that pointed to His faithfulness. I just wanted to put aside my fears, be obedient and trust Him for everything. I mean, EVERYTHING...even the curtains.
The same curtains have hung in my living and dining rooms for twenty-two years! I know this because my daughter-in-law asked my son a couple weeks ago, "How long has your mother had these curtains?" He replied, "They're the only curtains I've ever known." Oh my! I knew they were old, but I'd never counted the years until that moment! He turned twenty-two a few weeks ago.
I've been meaning to buy new curtains for quite some time, especially after the last washing when the ball fringe started falling off. So, with God's promise of provision engraved on my heart, I stood under the archway between the two needy rooms a few days ago and said, "Lord, I don't have the money to buy new curtains, but I know you do. I'm trusting you to provide."
That afternoon my mother-in-law dropped in and unknowingly asked me if I could use some curtains. She wasn't fond of some she'd purchased last year but she thought they'd look nice in my downstairs rooms. I answered, "What?! The curtains?!" Not only did she have enough curtains to replace the weary ones, there's even more to go into my new office whose windows have remained bare since spring!
It's such a little thing, curtains that is, in the bigger scope of our financial needs. But, to me, it was a big thing. God says, "Test me in this..." He is faithful even with the littlest of needs.
I love this.....such a wonderful display of God's promise.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were in the process of adopting Della, we paid for our Homestudy (a few thousand dollars), other small incidentals like certified birth certs, marriage certs, etc., and when we mailed out the application for the I600 (Application to Petition an Orphan -- the document you need to move forward on an Intl adoption), we had $25.00 left in our savings account. How, I thought, were we going to come up with the other thousands of dollars we needed I asked David???? He said: "Robin....where is your faith????"
After months of trying to sell David's motorcycle, we finally sold it to a man from the mid-west. That afternoon, we got Della's referral. Trust God on this one, Dawn.....He will provide all your needs!
Thanks for the encouragement Robin. It's been a test every week. But now with these curtains hanging in the most lived-in rooms of my house, including my writing room, I'm reminded of His provision every time I look out the window! He is faithful.
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