Mysterious Ways

Before I begin this story, I need to tell you an earlier tale to help you understand where I’m coming from.
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It was December 2007. I have already decided to leave my full-time job, resigned and resolved on freelancing. Mum was of course very anxious about it. After all, it holds an uncertain future, and more importantly, uncertain income for the family (seeing that she would be retiring in a couple of months’ time). It was less than a month away from the freefall I would be taking and I still lacked the most important resource to start off on my own – a computer.

I have been praying for months for a laptop, one good enough to run the heavy programmes I need for the job. Normally, an average saving person would be able to afford a decent one on his own. However, this proved to be difficult because God challenged me many times earlier to give to certain causes, leaving me without immediate financial means to get one on my own.

One day, mum’s natural concern prompted her to ask the reason I wasn’t getting a computer. Honestly I didn’t know how to react at that point in time. On the one hand I was trusting God to provide; on the other, I haven’t seen it yet and I would be out of a job by year’s end. That day I told God He had to come through for me, cause there were no other options. He HAD to come through…

The very next day, a friend walked in with gifts. And amongst others, a MacBook Pro!… from anonymous persons… for me! It took me a while to accept the fact though I was exhilarated. I cannot explain the immense joy knowing that God came through in a miraculous way. It felt like I could believe Him for anything from then on. The moment of joy was satisfying and greatly intensified, more so after the many months of praying and clinging on even when I haven’t seen physical evidence. Faith is indeed the substance of things hoped for, and evidence of things not seen.

The best part of it for me was that the prayer was answered physically in front of my parents. I got to testify with evidence that God is faithful to provide beyond what we could imagine, and we need not worry, but to trust in Him.
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Jumping back to the present, it is February 2008. In our journey of faith, there are little steps of faith all along the way. Since last year, God placed in my heart to take my parents to Australia this year for a holiday. So here was another big thing to trust God to provide for. Throughout the many months of praying, there was the natural struggle of trusting in God and rationalising circumstances. God has reminded me during those times that we are to believe as if we have already received it. Through it all, there was an inner peace that He will provide.

Just a couple of weeks before we had to pay for our flight tickets, God challenged me again to give a significant amount of money to someone. My immediate rationale is that I already didn’t have enough, let alone give that little away. To be honest, I asked God many times if that was really what He wanted me to do cause they were just little promptings, but the prompting wouldn’t leave me. I struggled with it for quite a while cause I was concerned of my own financial standing and the consequences.

Finally, when I decided in my spirit to obey, there was a sense of freedom and God rained down understanding of what He was teaching me.

I had expected Him to work like He did in the past - to provide in miraculous ways as He did before. However, our God is a great big God who works in mysterious ways. This time around, He wanted to teach me to give even when I have little or in need, to be faithful to His bidding in much or in want. And secondly, to accept His provision with humility and grace. My dad said it is ok and that they will pay for the flight tickets. I will no longer be able to say that I’m taking my parents on a holiday in “that” sense, but what I have I will give. I hope to make this trip an enjoyable and memorable one for us as a family. My prayer is that His presence will be so evidently with us even during this trip.