You Can't Convince Me God's Not Good.
Have you ever been in a situation where you needed provision? Whether it be financial, material, spiritual, relational, etc. We've all been there, right? In a state of need. I'm not talking about the "need" where really we just want something but call it a need. I'm talking situations where there's a very real need and you have no idea how it's going to be met. You plan and brainstorm and try to figure out how you're going to get what you need to the point of having so much anxiety and stress that it turns into fear that your need isn't going to be met. What if I told you that's not how life is supposed to work? Yeah, we should plan and think of creative ways to come up with the provision to get what we need when we need it, but we shouldn't stress about it or worry that we aren't going to be provided for.
My fiancé and I have been planning our August 20th wedding since the beginning of April when we got engaged. I had many moments early on in the planning process of being so overwhelmed by how much money we needed to come up with to make our dream day happen. I shed quite a few tears over the fact that planning my wedding wasn't one of the happiest times of my life, but was in fact the most stressful time. Levi did, and still does, so well at keeping my focus on God and reality.
We are still, very much so, in the process of planning, budgeting, and saving for some of the larger expenses surrounding the wedding while still paying for our current bills and expenses, but I can say that the stress is gone. I will admit, I had times over the last few months when the anxiety and worry tried to creep up again, but I didn't let it. I wouldn't feed into it. Why? Because throughout our months of planning, I have seen God come through in so many ways.
From the very beginning of our engagement, we have seen the favor and provision of the Lord on our lives. From being gifted Royal's tickets, cash, unexpected discounts on various things, and finding exactly the decorations we needed and wanted for the wedding that will also double as decor for our apartment afterwards. These are all the tip of the iceberg.
What this is really about is trusting God. In the midst of planning and budgeting for the wedding, we basically erased the needs for our apartment from our minds since we weren't sure how we'd even pay for the wedding and honeymoon.
God had a plan though. He's strategically placed people in our lives. People who are generous. People who are loving. People who see a need and meet it, even if that need has never been spoken.
A few weeks ago, it looked like the only furniture we'd have for our place was a bed, a small bookshelf, and a dresser.
Here we are now, 21 days out from the wedding and only 2 days out from me moving into our apartment and we have everything we need to get us started.
Slowly, we've had people reach out to us, asking if we need this or that and it has been exactly what we needed.
First, we were gifted a very nice couch with a matching ottoman.
Second, friends of ours were given a new grill so they offered to give us their old one.
Third, I received a message on Facebook from a sweet friend asking if we'd like two chairs; very nice and comfy chairs I might add.
Fourth, we were also given a basically brand new microwave...and...
Fifth, we got asked if we'd like a chest of drawers as well as a very nice, sturdy, dresser.
At this point, Levi and I were so blown away by how people left and right were contacting us asking if we wanted or needed this or that, and also by the fact that they were willing to give these things to us for free. The only thing left that we needed but weren't too concerned about was a kitchen table and chairs.
I am so in awe of the goodness of God that this part makes me laugh. Late Sunday night, Levi saw that he had a text from one of our favorite people (I won't name names, but she knows who she is), asking if we would like their kitchen table and chairs because they had a new one that has been in their family for generations. WHAT?!
How do things like this happen?
Let me tell you, they don't just happen. It's not luck, or coincidence, or anything else like that. It's the pure, perfect, goodness of the God we serve. He knew our needs, we trusted that we would be provided for and taken care of, and he absolutely came through with everything that we needed. I'm telling you, God cares about it all: big or small, there is no need that God isn't concerned about. You can't explain these things any other way. Try as you might, you will never convince me that God isn't real, good, or faithful.
My fiancé and I have been planning our August 20th wedding since the beginning of April when we got engaged. I had many moments early on in the planning process of being so overwhelmed by how much money we needed to come up with to make our dream day happen. I shed quite a few tears over the fact that planning my wedding wasn't one of the happiest times of my life, but was in fact the most stressful time. Levi did, and still does, so well at keeping my focus on God and reality.
We are still, very much so, in the process of planning, budgeting, and saving for some of the larger expenses surrounding the wedding while still paying for our current bills and expenses, but I can say that the stress is gone. I will admit, I had times over the last few months when the anxiety and worry tried to creep up again, but I didn't let it. I wouldn't feed into it. Why? Because throughout our months of planning, I have seen God come through in so many ways.
From the very beginning of our engagement, we have seen the favor and provision of the Lord on our lives. From being gifted Royal's tickets, cash, unexpected discounts on various things, and finding exactly the decorations we needed and wanted for the wedding that will also double as decor for our apartment afterwards. These are all the tip of the iceberg.
What this is really about is trusting God. In the midst of planning and budgeting for the wedding, we basically erased the needs for our apartment from our minds since we weren't sure how we'd even pay for the wedding and honeymoon.
God had a plan though. He's strategically placed people in our lives. People who are generous. People who are loving. People who see a need and meet it, even if that need has never been spoken.
A few weeks ago, it looked like the only furniture we'd have for our place was a bed, a small bookshelf, and a dresser.
Here we are now, 21 days out from the wedding and only 2 days out from me moving into our apartment and we have everything we need to get us started.
Slowly, we've had people reach out to us, asking if we need this or that and it has been exactly what we needed.
First, we were gifted a very nice couch with a matching ottoman.
Second, friends of ours were given a new grill so they offered to give us their old one.
Third, I received a message on Facebook from a sweet friend asking if we'd like two chairs; very nice and comfy chairs I might add.
Fourth, we were also given a basically brand new microwave...and...
Fifth, we got asked if we'd like a chest of drawers as well as a very nice, sturdy, dresser.
At this point, Levi and I were so blown away by how people left and right were contacting us asking if we wanted or needed this or that, and also by the fact that they were willing to give these things to us for free. The only thing left that we needed but weren't too concerned about was a kitchen table and chairs.
How do things like this happen?
Let me tell you, they don't just happen. It's not luck, or coincidence, or anything else like that. It's the pure, perfect, goodness of the God we serve. He knew our needs, we trusted that we would be provided for and taken care of, and he absolutely came through with everything that we needed. I'm telling you, God cares about it all: big or small, there is no need that God isn't concerned about. You can't explain these things any other way. Try as you might, you will never convince me that God isn't real, good, or faithful.
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