One of the many things that I love about being a dad is when I make good on a promise to my children, the look on their faces, the outward expression of joy it brings them, and to be honest, it does not have to be a huge thing, it can be something as small as a piece of candy from the store, but if I promise to do it they trust in me to do it, they don’t ever think that they have to go to the store and buy it themselves but know that I am going to do what I say.
It is always in times of uncertainty, times of the unknowing, and times of complete desperation that I have found God faithfully continues to show himself; even when I doubtfully believe there is no way out of something, the Lord shows up and provides, I still ask myself why. My father in heaven is a promise keeper, not a promise-breaker; the problem I tend to have is that I know God’s promises, yet I think I must fulfill them.
It was only in the last month or so that Dana and I have been going through a season; I have been blessed that she can stay home and raise our Children, but as things change, it has been getting tighter, and as the pressure builds up I start to look to my strength, to be honest. My wife, fortunately, is a woman of prayer, and when I come up with my direction, she reminds me that the Lord is saying to be still; I remind her that I don’t think she is hearing the Lord right because something doesn’t appear from nothing. Still, my wife was adamant about the position the Lord had told her to take; that was the direction she was standing on. For the first time in four years, things were running a few days late, and the panic started to set in for me, yet my wife was anxious not over the Lord’s direction but over me.
The other night, we came home, and I went through the mail to find something sent to me from Wells Fargo. I have gotten something from them occasionally from a car loan I once had with them. Every once in a while, it says they assess their finances, and somehow, I made an overpayment, and there is a check for a small amount. As I opened it this time, I had Dana read it, for it was enough to cover everything slightly behind. I share this because I always tell my wife that I do not believe in a prosperity God who gives you money, but she reminds me that He is a God who answers prayers and provides for your needs. Wells Fargo had a class action lawsuit against them, which Wells Fargo was settling with their customers at this time. The scriptures remind us in Mark 9:23-24:
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
In that moment, I realized how much I was like that man who has faith and believes in the promises of the Lord but struggles with doubt at times. I pray, Lord, please help me with my unbelief; please do not let me have spiritual amnesia, for your promises are not empty promises like ones I have made all too often throughout my life; help me in my unbelief.
So I ask, do you believe God will fulfill His promises to you?
Frank D.