Thank Him Before It Happens
Sometimes God lets us sink low to get our attention, then when the time is right picks us up, dusts us off, and lavishes us with His love.
Both my husband I were discouraged. It had nearly been a year to the day since we felt God had told us to sell our house and belongings and move from British Columbia, Canada to the United States. We were self-employed and work in our cabinet shop was slow. Our emotions were completely frayed. We lived and died over every interest in our house or with every quote for a kitchen we would give.
This had gone on for an entire year and we were completely worn out. It was a warm spring morning, but still too cool to leave the house without a jacket. Just before leaving for church, I put on my winter coat. I caught my reflection in the bedroom mirror. Tweed somehow didn’t seem to match my outfit. I started to say “I wish I had a spring jacket,” but then stopped myself as that would have only made my husband feel worse. There was no money for extras. I kept the thought to myself.
As I walked into the church I was met by a woman. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said as she smiled, “but I have a spring coat that is too long in the sleeves for me. If it’s ok I would like to give it to you.”
If it’s ok? Of course, it’s ok! I knew in my heart that God had heard the very sigh of my heart and was about to lavish some love on me. I returned home with high emotions.
Throughout the week I thought of the coat. The dark clouds started to creep back in. What if the coat didn’t fit, or what if it was something I didn’t like? Maybe I had been presumptuous about thanking God for it before I saw it? After all, we were sure He had told us to sell our house and move, but that hadn’t happened. I awoke the next morning before dawn. The family was still sound asleep. I pleaded with God like the persistent widow and questioned why He continued to give us false hope only to repeatedly be disappointed. Eventually, the sun rose and its beams filled the living room. My begging prayer began to change. I started to thank God for what He was doing and what He would do.
My parents had generously hired my husband and me to help do some renovations on their home. It helped pay some bills but my heart was still low. That same morning, as I was painting their bedroom, my husband walked in with the promised coat. I burst into sobbing tears. It was brand new, with a tag still attached, and it was gorgeous! It fit perfectly and was exactly what I would have picked if I had had the money. My heart sang!
I could end the story here and you would be left with warm emotions about how God answered the very sigh of my heart, but the full meaning of the story would be left out. Yes, God heard the very sigh of my heart and wanted to lavish love on me but He also wanted to teach me to trust Him, to thank Him for what He WAS doing instead of fretting about what He seemed not to be doing. It just so happened that the coat had been at my parent’s place all week but Mom had forgotten about it. I like to believe God prompted her at just the right moment. You see God had taught me a valuable lesson.
I began to thank Him for what He was doing and thanking Him for selling our house months before it ever sold. He was prompting faith in action. Eventually, our house did sell. God’s timing was perfect. In hindsight we can now see if He had sold it earlier the economy would not have supported a new business where we were moving to, and if He had waited any longer the dollar exchange would have prevented us from having enough money to move. If you find yourself feeling low, if it seems like your prayers aren’t being heard…REMEMBER, God is indeed listening. He hears even our smallest sigh. He also sees the big picture and has our best interest in mind.
