Perfect Provision

Dear Kim: 
Bud and I are vacationing in Texas. When we prayed for you today we felt led to send you the enclosed check for $100. We know that God will speak to you about how to use it. 
Love, Bud & Joyce 

I’d recently taken a leap of faith, sold my home in Illinois, and moved into an un-air-conditioned attic in Florida. Much was unknown regarding the future, but I did plan to return to Haiti on a mission trip, so I arranged to get the needed shots at the health department. 

The day of my appointment I stopped on the way to get my mail. That's when I received the card and check from Bud and Joyce. I was delighted to hear from them and confident the Lord would have no problem showing me how to put the $100 to good use. I said a prayer of thanks, asked God to bless my friends, slipped the check in my purse, and continued on my way. 

It didn’t take long to fill out the paperwork and receive my shots at the health department. I was heading out the door when the receptionist said “Miss Jackson, wait! You haven’t paid.” The last time I’d gone to Haiti I was living in another state where they didn't charge for immunizations, so I had wrongly assumed there would be no cost. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. How much do I owe?” 

“$97.35” 

“Wow, that’s a lot of money….” 

I began to fumble around in my purse…and...discovered the $100 check. 

God had provided what I needed, when I needed it, and before I even knew my need. 

Amazing.

Sixteen years have passed, and this week I went to a different health department to get a shot before returning to Romania. As I flipped through my immunization records, guess what I found? The receipt for $97.35 dated 1997. I smiled as I remembered God’s perfect and timely provision. 

Later this month we will celebrate God’s Ultimate Provision: the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We will proclaim that God—on the grandest of scales—has provided what we need, when we needed it, and before we even knew our need. 

Beyond amazing!

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly… 
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 
Romans 5:6, 8