Jehovah-Jireh: My $100 Story for the SWC

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This is my contribution to @jerrybanfield's #spiritualwritingcontest, and I hope you are encouraged and motivated to do good to others by it.

My story begins in 2001 when I had a career managing the grounds of a golf course. One day an employee came to me in a state of distress. After calming him down enough so that he could talk, he told me that his wife was planning to leave him that afternoon if he didn't come up with enough money to pay one of their bills. Apparently this had been an ongoing issue and this was the final straw.

Here was a man and a family who had a need, and I had the ability to help them. I reached into my pocket and pulled out $100US and handed it to him. At first he refused to take it, but I assured him it was a gift- not a loan, and I would never ask for it back or hold it over his head in any way.

I didn't realize it at the time, but that day set into motion a chain of events that taught me an important lesson about money, kindness, mercy, generosity, and just being a good person.

A few years later I found myself in an ethics class at seminary. We had a surprise guest speaker that day- a young man who brought his wife and infant daughter. The man was a part-time student and full-time pastor who had just lost his job for speaking about a political and moral issue at his church. A member who disagreed with his position had reported him to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and his position was terminated soon after to avoid further harassment from the IRS.

Upon hearing the story, the person behind me suggested we take up an offering to help this young family. Since we were not allowed to wear hats to class, the professor took off a shoe and passed it around to collect the money.

At the time, I had started my own business to pay my way through school. Earlier that day I had gotten a cash down-payment for work and I had $100 in my pocket. I was planning to use that money to buy a textbook after class, but somehow I knew the money wasn't meant for me. When the shoe came around, I slipped the money inside, knowing that this family needed it more than I needed that book.

Months later, I found myself struggling to make ends meet. I just wasn't bringing in enough money with my new business to keep it up. By November 2007, I had run out of money and accepted a job working for a public policy organization as a special research assistant. The job was only guaranteed for a month, but I was desperate for work and this was actually in a field for which I was studying. I began the first week of December, flat broke, and eagerly anticipated my one and only check that would come at the end of the month.

Image Credit: Pixabay

In the meantime, I fed my family with the free food that was donated to the bread bank at the school. Occasionally I was able to find odd work after hours and on weekends with my friends and neighbors. Somehow that got us by, but when the last day before Christmas break came, I had no money at all.

I was a broken man, frustrated that I worked so hard, yet had nothing to show for it. I remember complaining out loud to God that I understood the principle, "if a man doesn't work, don't let him eat," but I had been working long hours. Why wasn't I being rewarded for my work? My rant continued: I had given up everything to go to seminary and to follow what I thought was God's will for my life. Had I been wrong?

Late that night I was suddenly awakened with a deep urgency to grab my Bible and start searching for answers. As I flipped through the pages, I came across these verses in Psalm 40:1-3:

"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him."

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Those words calmed my spirit, and I knew that God had heard my cry to Him earlier that day. Somehow, I felt everything would be ok.

We were supposed to leave after I got off work the next afternoon to drive home to spend time with family for Christmas, but I didn't have enough money for gas to get us home. When I arrived to work though, the miracles began . . .

A co-worker gave me a Christmas card with a $100 bill inside!! I was overwhelmed with joy as I remembered God's promise that "we reap what we sow." God had seen my generosity towards my co-worker years before and used my new co-worker to return the blessing to me in my own time of need. With the money I was able to get enough gas to get home, but God still wasn't done.

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My father-in-law greeted me at the door and as he shook my hand, he placed (2) $100 bills into my palm and told me to get Christmas presents for my wife and 4-month old child. Can you imagine my shock as I had just gotten $300 out of nowhere that day? But God still wasn't done . . .

When I got to my father's house where we were staying for the week, I was rummaging through boxes of Christmas decorations that hadn't been put out yet. I pulled out a small stocking and ran my fingers through it to make sure there wasn't any leftover candy from a previous year. There was something inside, but it sure wasn't candy. To my surprise, I pulled out (8) $100 bills! That's $1,100 in a single day for those who are counting. Keep in mind, the previous day I was crying out to God because I had nothing.

By the time we left to go back, we had $1,500! But God still wasn't done . . .

The medical bills from my wife's delivery started coming in. In total, the bills would have been $180,000+- a debt I would've spent my entire life trying to pay. Suddenly, it made sense why I wasn't earning money for my efforts. If I had earned just $1,500 more the previous year, we would not have qualified for the government Medicare program and the full brunt of the $180,000 would have been mine to pay. As it was, the bill was covered almost entirely!

Image Credit: Pixabay

From my $100 story I learned that you can't out-give God. He sees everything, He hears everything. What I gave from my heart was returned immensely to me. And through this I also came to know God by His name, Jehovah-Jireh, which is translated, "The-Lord-Will-Provide." This name appears in Genesis 22:14:

So Abraham called that place The-Lord-Will-Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

Since then I have had more opportunities to help others in need and I always tell them about this story as I help them. I hope my $100 inspires you to bless others if you can, or to call out to God for help if you are in need.

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Thank you to @brandonfrye for this Steemit gif