[Thursday's Devotional] - April Fool?

In my October devotionals I wrote "My husband and I know that the Lord is aligning plans for His future will for our lives...... new home? new job? new location? he has been talking to us on all these matters (if only I could take a fast-forward glimpse to my 2013 Springtime devotionals!) but now is a season of waiting and preparing."

Little could I have imagined what God had prepared.  We have been looking to downsize so I can leave my current job for something I am passionate about, i.e. Shelter/Centrepoint/Soup kitchen/food ministries etc.. such jobs do not come with a great salary, if any at all!  We had researched our dream of living on a wide-beam narrow boat, and enjoyed many 'rekkies' down by the riverside, but this was very costly.

God has been saying 'wait' and, unlike 2 years ago when we moved to our current home, this time I was obedient. On our last move God had said not to look until the Spring of 2011, however, like a fool I was untrusting. I started looking at houses to rent in the January and spent 3 months viewing absolute rubbish, getting depressed and utterly stressed!  We went to church in the March of 2011 and a friend told us about a house he was working on, it was about to go up for rent  – we have loved living in it for last 2 years!

This time, having learnt my lesson, I was obedient. I waited, as patiently as I know how! God did not disappoint, in fact he overwhelmed us with his provision. Chris had an email out of the blue just before Christmas from a Christian couple he had worked for. They are a couple with a heart for mission and, last summer, Chris had shared with them our plans to downsize.  Amazingly, they have given us their maisonette for 2 years! Enabling us to save for God's future plan for our lives, be that mission here or abroad. It was great affirmation that God is moving us out in His plan, he has one for us all.

You cannot out-give God, as this wonderful couple know, and I am beyond doubt that they too will be blessed beyond measure for sowing into God's kingdom in such a generous way. If you doubt his provision in your life let me share a verse I have shared before, it is tried and tested to be an unfailing promise.

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do," says the Lord of Heaven's Armies, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!  Malachi 3:10 – [NLV]

By the way, we picked up the keys to 'Green Pastures' on Easter Monday, which was also April Fool's Day, but God's provision is no joke!

Open the Floodgates of Heaven – Let it Rain

Dawn Milward