In 1975, I had just received my honorable discharge from the US Army. Linda and I moved to Spokane, WA, with the intent to attend Bible college there. Linda was seven months pregnant. When we arrived in Spokane, we knew no one—not a soul.
We had saved enough money for our damage deposit and first-month’s rent and moved into a one-bedroom apartment. But several things challenged our financial situation.
First, we found a doctor for Linda, but he discovered that she had preeclampsia, a condition that could have jeopardized the life of both the baby and her. The doctor confined her to bed for the duration of her pregnancy, threatening hospitalization if her condition worsened.
Second, the transmission went out on our car, so we had to have that repaired.
Third, although I was eligible for GI Bill benefits to pay for college, the college God had led us to was so new that they had not yet received authorization by the Veteran’s Administration to receive funds through the GI Bill. We wondered what God was up to.
Finally, I could not find a job! I applied everywhere I could think of, but to no avail. Every day I went out looking for work but could find nothing. Still, I kept looking.
Very quickly, our finances got tight! We had no credit cards, so that option was unavailable to us. (Nor would any bank have given us a credit card at the time.)
All the while, we were praying for God’s provision for all these needs and He began providing in some most remarkable ways. Let me share just two of those with you.
After visiting the doctor, we received a bill in the mail for $256.63. (This amount was more than our monthly rent.) We had no health insurance, so I sat on the bed with Linda. We spread the bill out on the bed and prayed, asking God to provide.
The next day, we received an envelope in the mail. The only thing in it was an anonymous cashier’s check written to us in the amount of $256.63! This was the exact amount we owed! We were blown away! We thanked God for His amazing provision and paid the doctor bill in full. To this day, we have no idea who sent us the check. No one else but the doctor knew about the bill or the amount.
A week or two later, I was still actively seeking work every day. That was my full-time job. Meanwhile, Linda’s doctor had written a prescription for her that we needed to have filled but had no money. Again, we prayed together for the Lord’s provision.
We ended our prayer together and I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me to trust Him and drive to the store to fill the prescription. I told this to Linda, and she asked me how I expected to pay for it. I said, “Honey, I don’t know, but I sense God telling me to go.”
So, I drove to the drugstore and pulled into the parking lot. I opened the car door and put my left foot on the ground to get out. And there on the pavement was a pile of change! So much change, in fact, that it looked like someone had emptied their piggybank there! My heart leapt as I gathered all the coins and stuffed them in my pocket.
With a sense of joyful expectation, I went into the drugstore and asked the pharmacist to please fill Linda’s prescription. And the coins from the parking lot more than covered the cost!
The Apostle Paul, writing to the Philippians, encouraged them, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
Over the 45 years we’ve been married, Linda and I have experienced countless instances of God’s gracious provision in our lives—financially and in many other ways. We’ve discovered that He rarely provides in the same way. And He often provides in ways that surprise us, amaze us, and sometimes even confound us.
Whatever your present need is, trust the Lord with it and watch Him provide. I love Matthew 7:11, where Jesus said, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
©2019 Rob Fischer