Dear Friend,
Yesterday, during the last Builder's Challenge teaching, I shared a testimony about how I moved to Las Vegas with less than $40 in my pocket. It wasn't that I just picked up my life one day and decided to move to Vegas; I was experiencing spiritual warfare.
Here's the short version:
I graduated with my doctorate in May 2018 and negotiated a summer teaching position with my new job to help cover my expenses. As a graduate student, I knew my funding would stop when I graduated, so I needed to secure finances. In June 2018, a tree fell on my rented house when I was out of town. Interestingly, the tree fell over the bedroom and separated the roof from the structure. Not only this, but it fell right above my bed, which means that I could have been seriously injured if I had been there.
As a result of this, I was forced to live in a hotel for the entire summer. The stay would have been OK had my summer job paid me. What I mean is that somehow, someway, though I taught the two summer classes, I was not paid promptly. As you can imagine, I was stressed. I was maxing out my credit cards but still preparing to move by faith.
In late July, though I had no indication that I would ever be paid, I shipped my car to Vegas. I also bought a $400 one-way ticket to a land I knew nothing about. All I had was faith. As I was on that 4-5hr flight, I just kept asking God to make a way for me. I knew I was supposed to be there, but so many things were cropping up to prevent my arrival. (I forgot to mention that one of my brothers died that year, that my job had offered the position to someone else before they offered it to me, and that people were telling me not to move and to stay in Alabama). Essentially, I was fighting hard to make it into the region.
Anywho, I get to Vegas, and still no payment. The hard part was that I was scheduled to pay my new apartment's lease the following day and the remaining fee on my car. I might have cried myself to sleep that night because I was now on the west coast with nothing. I wasn't irresponsible; it was that life was happening, and hell didn't want me there.
The following day, though, a portion of the funds I had worked for was released. While it wasn't the total amount, it was enough for me to handle the things I needed to handle.
I just needed to get to the place.
I just needed to get to the land.
I just needed to keep pressing on.
I needed to get there.
On the live yesterday, I likened that story to Abraham when he was told to go to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice his son. However, when he discovers that he doesn't have to kill Isaac, he marks the land Jehovah Jireh, meaning "the Lord will provide."
God provided for me in that season, but it wasn't without resistance from hell. Now I know God is a provider because we've had that experience. Therefore, when he asks me to do something that I feel is unsafe or threatens the stability of my life, I can go back in our history and remind myself that He has shown Himself to provide.
What does your history with God tell you?
Did you miss yesterday's live??? Watch the replay.
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