Faith: “…being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV – emphasis mine).
Oh to be “sure” and “certain” in our faith! I know for me there are moments when my faith seems so strong that I really do believe I could move mountains (never tried it, though), but then I flip-flop and start to stress all over again. Can’t wait to get that new body once I get to heaven (2 Corinthians 5:1)!
After the confidence I had in my last post Pull Your Eyes Away, suddenly the stress hit me again big time. Why now? Because financial issues suddenly dropped into our laps.
First off, we were told that in order for Jeffrey to obtain his disability payments in a new state, he would have to prove residency there – which could take 6 months to 1 year! The lady with Arizona State Services that I spoke with told me she would do her best to move approval along quickly, but still we were looking at probably 3-6 months.
That meant that having a State-paid caregiver for Jeffrey was out of the question for at least a few months, so we would have to pay for nursing services out of our own pocket during that time.
On top of that, we all of a sudden found out from the IRS that we owed the State of Oregon a huge chunk of change that year which we didn’t expect. Then upon taking Jeffrey to an eye specialist it was discovered that he was really nearsighted in one eye, and they were recommending Lasix surgery so he didn’t need to worry about wearing eyeglasses when he was off living by himself – another nightmare we didn’t want to think about as he was unable to take glasses off and put them on by himself.
Also, we had been hashing back-and-forth the idea of going to an attorney to see about getting appointed as Jeffrey’s guardian/conservator – which the attorney quoted would be about $1500. Phew, our savings account was dwindling rapidly!
Then came the reminder: Whose money was it all anyway? Well, duh!!! Psalm 24:1 reminds us that everything is the Lord’s!
And you know what? It is often at those totally hopeless moments that God chooses to show His majesty and power – remember the Zarephath widow I wrote about in Trusting in God – Even When Everything Inside You Says “No”?
It would be so easy if God just dropped everything you asked for right smack into your lap, right? But then why would you need faith?
Of course that Sunday our pastor decided to preach on Psalm 91:1-2 (NLT):
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.
Trust, trust, trust…
After church that day, we decided to head to Subway for a quick sandwich. We were almost done with our meal when a couple stopped by our table. They knew Jeffrey, as they both were substitute teachers and had been in Jeffrey’s classrooms before.
They started asking questions as they knew that Jeffrey was a senior – what were his plans next year? Was he going to attend college?
Gary told them about ERAU in Arizona, and wouldn’t you know it, they said one of their sons was there right now, and he was going to be a senior next year! Plus they said they had a nephew who lived on campus in one of the dorms, and they were certain that they both would be happy to check in on Jeffrey periodically.
And – they were a strong Christian family!
Trust, trust, trust…
Believe it, my friends. As long as we live in this world, our faith will be continually tested, like it or not. The question is: What will you do when those times come?
The God Of All Comfort 