So You Didn’t Expect It? Trust God Anyway

You can’t learn to trust God without first going through things that require trust. It’s something I’ve learned from experience. As my husband and I find ourselves in a sudden whirlwind of financial craziness, we know our God is faithful. In a matter of two months our finances have been turned upside down. We’ve not yet overcome this but I’m still testifying to his faithfulness — we choose to live in the limits he’s set for us.

In September, my daughter Evelyn ended up in the hospital, then my son Jasper had his tonsils out just a couple weeks later. Shortly after that, my Dad offered to take my sisters and I on an all-expense paid trip to Ireland. It was crazy! My emotions and mind went back and forth, trying to figure it out. Where the money would come from, whether or not I should go on the trip (my husband said “yes!” and we’d figure details out). It’s the last trip we’ll get to take with my dad and sisters, a trip of a lifetime.

Since these situations arose, here’s a bit of what God has done. He’s called us to continue to walk in obedience even in this season of tight financial situations. Staring down our medical bills, it’s quite a temptation to toss any extra cash we can at it. Yet we hold steady to God’s word and his promises. We continue to give to our church growth fund because we know what God can do through that obedience. We still choose to send our children to activities like Youth Convention because we know it is important. We still choose to not overspend, to purchase second-hand, and to limit our budget in every area possible to make our money stretch. Here are some of the things God has done:

• In the very first part of October I worked a huge event at my job, and the exact amount of overtime I had was just the right amount I would need for food and incidentals on my trip to Ireland.
• I was able to consign a whole bin of clothing locally and just got a check this week for $76 that went right towards our grocery and clothing budget.
• I scored at a local thrift shop while doing my usual Monday purple bag day: I was able to find a black leather Coach purse in amazing shape and then turned around and sold it for a really nice profit. That, too, went into our grocery budget, which is what took the biggest hit this past month when we crunched our money to pay down those medical bills.

You see — it’s walking this thing out daily, knowing that God sees, God knows our heart, and he also understands what we need. He’s a creative God, simply asking for our trust and to rely on him.

I pray that God would urge you to walk in trust. If you’ve held back what’s his, give it joyfully, even if you’ve been reluctant to give because it’s not in your current budget. Pray, ask God what amount he would have you trust him for each month — then walk out in trust for that provision.