It was early on a sunny Friday morning in June a few years ago when my husband received a call that would strengthen our faith in our Amazing God. On that call, my husband was informed by his boss that he would no longer have a job in one week due to the company’s financial situation. Yet, as my husband calmly relayed the news to me, I was aware that I, too, felt no anxiety.
We looked at one another, and I said, ‘This didn’t catch God by surprise, we know that He has something good in store for us.’ We thanked Him and professed our faith with a prayer. We said a prayer based on the scripture that God will provide all of our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Peace flooded our souls and never left us.
At the time, my husband worked in the entertainment industry. His area of expertise–DVD video sales–had changed dramatically due to video streaming replacing DVD purchases. This was also when we were too young to retire and at an age when you are almost always overlooked and ruled out when it comes to filling job openings. We were also relying on his health insurance, which would also end in a week when he lost his job. In addition, we had counted on his income to cover the expenses for the upcoming destination wedding of one of our sons that was to take place in two months.
As we continued with our day, I found my thoughts drifting. I realized that had we received the same type of news years earlier when our faith wasn’t as strong, our response likely would have been much different, and almost assuredly, we would have been overwhelmed with fear by such news. I felt so thankful for God’s past faithfulness and that we had learned to trust in Him even when we didn’t understand His ways or see a way out of things on our own.
“I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.” Psalm 86:12 (ESV)
Over the weekend, we continued to have great peace despite the circumstances we were facing because we chose to keep our focus upon the One Who we know is aware of and cares about our every need, and Who loves us with an unfailing love. At the start of the following week, my husband received another call from his boss. This time his boss shared that he had figured out a way to keep my husband on the payroll. It would mean a substantially reduced salary, but it would allow us to keep his health insurance and will enable us to cover our most basic expenses; we would be able to ‘make all of the ends meet. Looking back on it now, I know God’s grace was what got us through that time in our lives because, on paper, it wouldn’t have seemed possible that we could live on the new salary. How good is our God!
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you” 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)
Everything happens in God’s perfect timing and for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. As we continued to allow God to lead and guide our steps over the next year and a half, our faith grew because we learned more and more to put our trust in Him and His Word above what we could see with our own eyes.
During this time, we kept our eyes upon Jesus. We waited expectantly upon Him to open doors as my husband continued to seek other employment opportunities. Although His timing wasn’t ours, it was perfect timing with the perfect position! ‘Out of the blue,’ my husband received a call from someone who had no idea of our situation and approached him about an opportunity to work with a Christian ministry where he could use his talents and gifts in a way that more directly impacted the kingdom of God. He took that job, and it not only has been an incredible blessing for him and for me, but I also have heard from many with whom he works that God has used him as an instrument of blessing in their lives as well. God used this life event to bless my husband and me in so many ways, especially by increasing our faith in our God, Good Heavenly Father and driving home the truth that God is always faithful, and He always knows best. He is ‘Faithful and True and can be nothing other than that because that is His very nature!
Are you wondering how you can have faith without a doubt in our Amazing God? Well, you can! There is a God created warrior within all of us, including you. You can find many examples of faith warriors in the Bible. When it appears that you are facing unconquerable giants in your own life– as my husband and I did– I encourage you to think about the faith of Joshua and Caleb. They were sent out by Moses along with 10 other spies to survey the land God had promised to give to Israel. The other 10 spies could only see the giants in the land and missed seeing all of the goodness in the land God had assured them He would give to them. Joshua and Caleb did not deny that giants were living in the land, but they also believed those giants were no match for their Almighty God! Out of the 12 men, Joshua and Caleb were the only two who had faith without doubt. When the other 10 spies didn’t believe they could defeat the giants in the promised land, Joshua and Caleb trusted in God’s faithful promise and believed they could be victorious through Him (Numbers 13:25-33).
The 10 unbelieving spies and their families died in the wilderness. In contrast, God rewarded the faith of Joshua and Caleb by giving them alone– out of all of those in their generation–entrance into the Promised Land that was’ flowing with milk and honey. (Numbers 14:28-30). Faith is always pleased with and rewards faith in Him. That reward may not be right away as it wasn’t for my husband and I nor for Joshua and Caleb, but the reward will always come in God’s perfect timing.
When we choose not to doubt God and instead put our faith in His Word and His promises, we will conquer all the giants that seek to stir up fear in our own lives. We live in a time when many events are happening in our country and world that can easily lead us to feel anxious and fearful if we choose to doubt God. Remember, nothing catches our Living God by surprise. He knows everything, and He is Sovereign over the universe. So look to Him and rejoice! He specifically created you to be alive ‘for such a time as this. If you choose to believe in HIm rather than doubt Him, you too will be able to do great exploits for His glory as Joshua and Caleb did, and you too will be rewarded for your faith.