The Weekly Encourager - February 27, 2010 - Answered Prayer with Three Days to Spare
The Weekly Encourager - February 27, 2010 - Answered Prayer with Three Days to Spare
February was an interesting month. At the beginning, I had set aside the last two weeks of February to get a quilt finished for our guild quilt show and to write an article for a quilt newsletter. Yesterday (February 26) was the deadline for both.
Then I found out I needed new tenants for our rental property. The workload for landlords is unpredictable: you may go several months without doing anything except to deposit your tenant's checks; but, when something goes wrong, you have to drop everything and deal with it. This time it was simple enough to place ads, but then another blizzard came, and no one went anywhere for two weeks. I lost potential renters because the road was too bad to get into the development. When the roads finally were plowed, I got a bad cold with a case of pink eye. Yet I knew that God brought the snow and the sickness. He is Lord of all.
With only a week left and feeling really sick, on Sunday the 21st I was starting to get anxious about whether I'd find a tenant by the end of the month, or whether we'd have to cover March's rent. Normally I would never even think of working on the Lord's Day, but that morning I felt a tinge of temptation, knowing that Sunday is the busiest day for real estate in our area. Could this be an exception, Lord?
His answer was No. That morning we got to church and the sermon was about honoring the Lord in our business dealings with the world! Amidst Pastor Dave Coffin's message about the Christan's behavior in the marketplace, certain verses stood out to me:
"A just balance and scales belong to the Lord; all the weights of the bag are His concern." - Proverbs 16:11 NASB. A reminder that the God who numbered every hair on my head is concerned about my rental property, too. He is Lord of all.
"When will the new moon be over, so that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale?" - Amos 8:5 ESV The days the Lord appointed for worship were not of interest to the dishonest merchants; they just wanted the Sabbath to be over with as soon as possible, so that they could do business again. I certainly did not want to numbered with them!
The main thing that hit me was, you don't have to work on the Sabbath, you don't have to lie, cheat, or steal to get what you need. The Lord says, if you need it, I will provide it. I walked away from that service with such a boost to my faith. Through the sermon and the Scriptures, the Lord gave me a quiet confidence that all would be well with my rental property. My job was to trust Him and to continue to work with diligence and honesty.
Reflecting further, I remembered some other prayers that the Lord had answered recently: He blessed my last-minute preparations and travel to sing at my uncle's funeral, He was very gracious to Dave's brother Matthew regarding some legal issues, His hand was evident in the resolution of a problem with a friend. The Psalmist reminds himself of what the Lord has already done for him, encouraging himself to trust in God again. We can use that same model for our prayers: thankfulness and trust.
A few days later, God provided a suitable tenant. I had a signed lease in my hands three days before the end of the month. (Oh yes, and He restored my health enough to enable me to finish the quilt project and article on time!)
Another great point Pastor Dave made was that when you come right down to it, Jesus's death on the cross was a commercial transaction. We were bought with a price. His death canceled the record of debt. Since our holy God's scales are always perfect, we can be comforted that the price Jesus paid was just. We are indeed redeemed! This same God who forgave our sins will also take care of all our financial needs. He is Lord of all. Thanks be to God for such a gift!
God is faithful,
j
"Shopping and Salvation, or What has Jerusalem to do with the mall?" Part of the Proverbs series. To hear this sermon, go to http://newhopefairfax.org/index.asp and click on Resources.