Thursday, April 17, 2008

Not Going to the King of Syria...


It is cloudy....perfect for a picture but soooooo windy, guess we'll see how it goes this afternoon. Shopping went well. Anna actually went with me, but only briefly as she had a Tea engagement with her Burnett friend, Abbie celebrating her 16th birthday at a Tea Room, very nice time for her!! Made it home, unloaded, cooked supper, Terry planted four 60 foot rows of green beans, and then the day was near done. From the rising of the sun to the going down, may the name of the Lord be praised! I praise him!!

I asked Terry if I could share our "truck" story" and he said I could, hopefully you can follow and it be clear and be a blessing. First for some history...for almost 22 years we have sought to be committed to the truth of not going into debt and owing no man The Lord has provided even "big" things like our house and all the vehicles thus far, he has used wonderul people as a means to do that. I know this might seem strange, especially in the world system we live in, yet we are seeking by God's grace alone to hold to this. Now, not to say it is easy and sometimes we get impatient and want to take matters into our own hand, that is what this story is about, victory when we were weak and expectation to what the Lord can and will do!! In Dec. 06 the Lord provided the resources to purchase a 1995 Chevy truck with 214, thousand miles on it, now it has 260 thousand miles and has some needed attention, but it is still rolling, suprisingly! The guys are saving, but it is slow as of course we have to have daily needs, food, gas to go to jobs and then just your regular expenses of the home. They look and study as to what will meet their needs and they have visited some lots, so they are seeking to have wisdom and getting alot of info. Yesterday when they stopped by a lot, the salesman gave the info of "leasing" the vehicle. They got little information but came home and we just tossed around the idea. There were some positives as you can deduct it on your taxes as a business expense and a few other things. It is not borrowing money, it would be paying for the use of the truck for a certain time with the option to buy it. We did not even get any info of all the "hidden" things so like I said this was just a talking and pondering moment. I really had caution to start with and some others did too. Terry and Daniel were seeing the benefit of how it could be a benefit to the taxes and Anna was adament that we should NOT. Ok, off to bed and of course just praying and asking for direction. This morning I called Terry about something and he said go read II Chronicles 15 & 16, and then he said do you want me to go ahead and tell you? I wanted to know right then, because I read a scripture and was thinking " Oh, what if he got a go-ahead and my scripture said not to, we'll have to again figure out what to do. He proceeded to tell me the story of Asa and how he went to battle and the Lord gave him the victory, then in chapter 16 another battle was on the horizon and Asa thought he needed help from the king of Syria,( v.3) and then in v. 7, And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said unto him, because thou hast relied on the king of Syria and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thy hand. Terry shared that this was a truth that he thought we should apply to the truck situation, of not to rely on what we could work out with the dealership, ( like going to the king of Syria) but to see the other scripture that is included in this story, v.9, For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him... My scripture was in Ps. 78: 41, Yea, they turned back and tempted and limited the Holy One of Israel. I was so thankful that the scriptures the Lord gave both of us complimented each other and it was so clear, I went before the Lord and said thank you for your protection and asked that he might show himself strong. I also read this verse in Ps. 48:14, For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death. I read it before Terry told me what he read, but the Lord brought it to my mind as I was so grateful for his direction. I like that phrase "For this God is our God." He continues to bring my heart to bow before him. As I read another scrpture in Ps. 138:8, it is so wonderful that all of scripture witnesses to the truth that the Lord wants the very best for us and has that end in mind. The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands. As I read this prior to the conversation I had with Terry, I was thinking this morning how David was confident that the Lord was going to accomplish that which he was maybe praying about, what he was concerned with, he believed, but in the same breath he was showing his own weakness of dependance and pleading God to not forsake him. And what is the beautiful truth that brought this together, its God's mercy as mentioned that is forever. So here is God working his perfect plan and here is man, desperate and needy and here is mercy right in the middle, and look, the word mercy is literally right in the middle of the scripture. Like the scripture says, herein is LOVE! So now we look with hopeful expectation of the great things the Lord will do, not only with the "truck situation" but in all that is before us. I will have to say and I told Terry, and this is in all honesty, I would have almost been embarressed if we had proceeded and got the truck "our" way and to have to say "look at the new truck we got," because I could not bring myself to say the Lord provided it. For our family this is a victory that was brought through the truth of the scripture, it is alive and powerful, never doubt what the Lord can say through it. Somewhat disappointed, but for now we wait, we pray, we hope unto the Lord to show himself strong. And by the way of rememberance, Joel went that evening back in Dec. 06 to purchase the truck we have now, he thought it was so neat to ride in such a truck!!

Now, its after lunch, gotta get ready for the afternoon, take care and know he will be your guide too!!

Cindy

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting this today. There are some issues that the Lord has been bringing to my eyes for several months now. This situation has been confirmed by others when I was questioning MY understanding of what I believed God had shown me. Yet again God has been at work using someone not at all connected with the situation to remind me (encouragement) that God is sovereign and is confirming to me again on this matter.

Your post today is just one more reminder from the Lord that He will work all the little tiniest details out in his timing and that when He reveals the complete picture, it will be ABSOLUTELY awesome and inspiring for others too.

Thanks for sharing and please tell Terry thanks for being open to being used by God in allowing the sharing, it did so minister to me, even though I know you did not intend it specifically for me.

Annie said...

Thanks for the encouragement!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing. The Lord DOES provide if you wait for HIS timing. Our grass was high as could be and we could not mow our yard because my husband was sick and could not fix our mower. Each day I just prayed to God about our situation as everyone mowed their yards but us and there we were with our grass uncut. I did not get upset and just kept waiting. The next day our neighbor who we normally don't talk to came knocking at our door to let us know she bought a new lawn mower because the old one hurt her back and she wanted to know if we wanted to buy her old one for a very cheap price. 2nd today my aunt emailed me that her mother cannot sew anymore and wants to know if I would like the sewing machine because they want to give to someone they know. I have been wanting a sewing machine for a while now. There are so many things around our house I could repair instead of replace with one! Yes, the Lord is good and does take care of all our needs.