Psalm 86:15-17; Thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. Turn to me, and be gracious to me; Oh grant Thy strength to Thy servant, And save the son of Thy handmaid. Show me a sign for good, That those who hate me may see it, and be ashamed, Because Thou, O LORD, hast helped me and comforted me.
When it comes to government bailouts Americans are pretty divided. When it comes to Divine intervention and Supernatural provision however Christians are totally united. Philippians 4:19-20; And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Or we simply pray, Jehovah Jireh (God our Provider). In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.
In this light, a friend recently encouraged me to post more articles that highlight the "LUX" of ministry lest God's people get lost in the darkness along the way. That was very helpful counsel. One of the great blessings of dark trials is that these seasons help us better appreciate answered prayers!
In the last six years of revitalization ministry First Baptist Church has gone through two seasons of somewhat intense spiritual pruning. I have briefly summarized our first season of pruning here and here. The second season of refining has been summarized here. Suffice it to say, as we entered into the final quarter of 2013 our ministry was down (numerically and financially). During one of the low points I candidly remember one of our financial guys saying, "Only God can save us now!" Collectively we wondered, "How are we going to maintain this massive four million dollar church facility long term?" "How will we continue to do X, Y, and Z?"
The Lord had already shown us His abundant provision a few years earlier in the unexpected provision of a massive estate gift from a very unlikely source. The Lord certainly did not owe us that grace gift nor did He owe us anything else. Nonetheless, in our better moments we poured out our hearts to Jesus knowing that Thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth!
During this season of waiting on the Lord I received the following letter (see picture above). The Lord showed our church family another major sign for good. This large estate gift check came at exactly the right time. Once again the LORD helped us and comforted us in supernatural ways!
This is why we sing songs like this, "When dark trials come and my heart is filled with the weight of doubt. I will praise Him still. For the Lord, our God, He is strong to save, from the arms of death and the deepest grave, And He gave us life in His perfect will, and by His good grace, we will praise Him still."
And joyfully declare, Thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. Turn to me, and be gracious to me; Oh grant Thy strength to Thy servant, And save the son of Thy handmaid. Show me a sign for good, That those who hate me may see it, and be ashamed, Because Thou, O LORD, hast helped me and comforted me.
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