Provider

The rain keeps coming and the storms seem to keep creeping up on the horizon. When we think we are in the clear, we see yet another. Then it hits. And hits hard.

But let me tell you, when we were in despair, God said let me do a repair. Not just physically, but on our spiritual hearts as well. So let me tell you a story. A story that I have been eager to share the minute it happened. I knew I couldn’t keep this to ourselves because it’s a story that proves God never leaves us in our pits and cisterns.

This past week has been hard. My heart procedure did not go as planned and there are a lot of unknowns with what to do next. It seems never-ending and feels like one blow after another. When we were in Ann Arbor, we had our van in for a few repairs and we learned that it was going to be a hefty bill. I mean HEFTY. But we haven’t had many fixes on the van, so I suppose it was time. When we arrived home, we realized our other vehicle was having troubles. We honestly thought, no way! A light came on and once it was diagnosed, it was going to be about $1,000 to fix. No way could we do that. So Dan looked into fixing the problem himself. It proved to be a tough one, so he called his buddy to see if he could shed some light on the situation.

Dan calls this friend a bilge pump because he has bailed us out of tough situations too many times to count! Plus, like I said in my last post, Dan feels we need to be building an ark because the rain and storms keep coming. So in a literal sense, he kind of is like a bilge pump :).

Because of the storms of life, it has made me question my belief and promise that God will provide. I was doubting that characteristic of God, so I wrote it on a sticky note and put it up on our bulletin board. I knew this to be true in my head, but did I fully believe it in my heart? That was the problem.

So Dan and bilge pump were working on the vehicle and it just wasn’t going well. So they tried replacing a simple spark plug, which they thought well, last resort. So they replaced a $12.49 spark plug and let me tell you, IT WORKED. We went from needing to spend $1,000 to $12.49. Okay, they had to buy a few tools to replace the plug, but from $1,000 to $50? I’d love to say the word “insane”, but that is what you call God being a PROVIDER.

That sticky note, will now be staying on our bulletin board as a “memorial stone thrown into the river” to remind us that God does provide. When we honestly felt we couldn’t catch a break, God threw us a life ring and reminded us, Sterks, I do provide. When we thought there was no way, God said, “I’ve got this.” We both have been in tears over all that has happened and it felt like too much. But today, we both have been in tears over how God has chosen to work in our lives. It was a simple spark plug. But what an answer to prayer a simple plug was. We can now afford to fix what we need to fix on our van and well, my heart, is still literally broken, but we walk with renewed faith knowing that God doesn’t leave us in our pits. He doesn’t leave us in our dens (Joseph and Daniel in the Bible). God provides a way out.

I know this is a simple story about a boring ole spark plug. But it’s not about the spark plug – it’s about God’s promise to provide, even when we think there is no way out. I’m sure Daniel and Joseph thought the same. Of course as humans we would’ve chosen a different sequence of events, but God knew exactly what He was doing. We just had to keep trusting. Keep following. And keep pursuing God. And that’s what we have to remember as we walk this heart journey too. It’s hard. But we are surrounded by so many who are praying for us.

GOD IS OUR PROVIDER. Yesterday, when I wrote the word PROVIDER on that sticky note, little did I know the meaning it would soon have. It now is a statement of faith that I can hold tightly to in my own heart.