Note: I was planning to write about my reflection about yesterday’s retreat, but it turned into a testimonial about provision. So I’ll just complete my thoughts about yesterday’s retreat at another time.
I am by the grace of God
During the retreat, I enjoyed our time of sharing our faith journeys and our victories and current challenges in life. As I listen to each person’s stories, I can’t help but be in awe of God because He truly can utilize every person whose willing to be used by Him. I am reminded of the verse that says we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this power is not from us but from God (2Co 4:7). That God is a specialist in calling ordinary men to do His extraordinary bidding. We have nothing to boast about except God’s offensive grace.
Prayer
A huge chunk of our time there was spent in prayer. Through one of our sessions about prayer we were reminded that prayer is the most potent weapon of the Christian worker. It was the only discipline that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them. Jesus spent hours “before day” in prayer before doing ministry, so that His ministry had 100% success rate. To spend hours of Time Alone with God is to spend less hours “fixing problems” with men.
I heard once from Joyce Meyer that we should seek to become persons of divine experience rather than persons who only have heard how God moved in Scripture and other people’s lives. Time and time again God is always on time, His time. The team rejoiced at the thought that God is like a mighty eagle, swooping down to snatch us (Filipino: dagit) just when we’re inches and seconds from drowning.
I myself can testify to the power of prayer. This year, my wife and I decided that we will be more serious about our prayer and fasting time, desiring to be seek His will and be more intimate with Him. We have also decided to be more serious about giving. And in the past two months, God has been answering our prayers like manna. And He answers in ways that you cannot mistake where the provision had come from. You’ll know immediately it was from Him because His fingerprints is all around it.
Like just last Sunday morning before church, Easter, I remembered our “oil jar” is almost done and I begin to think about the week. The temptation to worry was there. Being tempted to worry is like being offered a sweet candy to suck on. With worry, it’s a temptation to sulk in it. But I have learned better than to give in to worry right away. God has given me my own share of molding moments when it comes to provision. So I just kept the thought in my heart knowing that God is always on time. “Careless abandon” is the posture I adapt for most times in times like these. Just let God be God. I prayed a prayer of trust to a loving Father who will provide on time. My prayers have been like that lately, not one of scrambling desperation, but one of expectation and trust for His answer.
His answer came that same morning, just like talking to a person face to face, you expect the person to respond. The answer came in a form of an e-mail. I had a previous client of mine, many years back, like three years ago, I did a small project for him, but he failed to pay me. I have forgotten about it already. That client e-mailed me that morning saying how glad he was able to find me again (find my email) and that he still owe me some money and that he will be paying it now. It was a provision I was not expecting. After I finished reading it, I was just speechless and dumbfounded (in Tagalog, natameme). That same day, the client wired his payment to my account. And not only that, he had new projects for me to do. God has did it once again!
And the Easter sermon that morning was called “Easter Surprises”.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” - Ephesians 3:20-21
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