A Child’s Faith in ACTION

Posted on Aug 07, 2013 by Wendy

I can’t help but tell you what happened in our house last week, but before I do, I need to tell you the background to the story.  About six months ago, our family took a huge step of obedience and faith as I changed jobs from a job that paid regularly to a position where we completely rely on God to provide the income. Summer has proven to be very slow, and that means that we must depend on God even more. As an adult, I find that relying on God can look very different from one moment to the next.  God is capable of anything.  If I focus on His track record, I know that there is nothing too big for Him. However, I often find myself focused on my immediate needs and not on Him, and as quickly as one minute to the next, I worry. 

Kids go back to school in a couple of weeks, and “Back-to-School” is an expensive time of the year…especially when you have five kids! I must admit, after having a very unsuccessful summer of business and realizing that I would not receive any paycheck, I began to panic thinking about the immediate needs of my children.  How would I buy all of the school supplies? How would I buy their uniforms (they attend a public school where uniforms are worn)?

 This is where the story gets interesting!

On Wednesday, I received a call from my 10-year-old niece, Allyson. She and my sister had spent their afternoon at Salvation Army Thrift Store looking for uniforms for their family and for ours. After many calls about the sizes of my children and the styles that our school allowed, Alyson called again. This time her voice was VERY excited!

“Aunt Wendy, guess what?” she exclaimed on the other line.

“What?!” I said sensing something exciting had happened.

“Well…,” she continued slowly, trying to build the tension. “We wanted to buy the uniforms that we found today for your kids, but we found so many that we could not buy them all.”

I tried to interrupt and thank her for finding so many. I also needed to assure her that I did not want them to pay for our uniforms. They had done a GREAT job finding them at Salvation Army, AND they shopped on Wednesday, which is ½ price day on clothing at that particular store.  Already they had saved us a ton of money. But I could not interrupt fast enough. Allyson was so excited to tell me what had happened!

“Do you want to know what God did?” she hurried to speak over my interruption.

“Of course…what did He do?!” I said as I realized there was more to the story.

“Well, my mom asked me to try on a pair of shorts to see if they would fit Mallie (my 10 year old daughter).  When I put them on, there was a $20 bill in the pocket! We took it to the lady at the store, and she said that I could have it!” she exclaimed as if she had just won the lottery.

Of course my immediate reaction was to be excited for her, but my excitement changed to complete awe with her next sentence!

“Aunt Wendy, God gave me the money to buy all of the clothes that we found for your kids!” she bragged on God without a single hint of remorse at giving up her newfound treasure. 

I was dumbfounded. God had provided! In the next moment I thought a thousand things:

• I have NEVER found money in the pockets of anything at a thrift store! – Miracle!
• I knew God could, I just didn’t know that He would…and He used this child to prove it to me! Faith of a child!
• Allyson could have kept the money, but she realized that the money was from God and used it for His glory. Blessing!
• Both my faith and her faith were strengthened through this simple miracle! Priceless!

CLAIM IT: Matthew 6:25-30 (NLT)25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

ACTION: Don’t Worry! Have Faith! Take God at His word! This week alone, God also provided us with all of the school supplies that we needed. Another friend called and said that God had encouraged her to purchase all of the lists of supplies for our children.  I am dumbfounded at the enormity and the detail of God. Give God a chance to do the same for you. Your needs will be different than mine, they might be emotional or spiritual needs. Whatever your need, God longs for you to rely on Him.