God's Provision? It's In the Mail

 Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord
 Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice
 Tender to me the promise of His Word
 In God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice  - Timothy Dudley Smith (1926 - )

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Now, this is cool!

A friend of mine recently underwent some minor yet necessary surgery.  She lost her job over a year ago when the company for which she was working went out of business.  Her husband has a good job with health insurance, but they were surprised - and a bit chagrined - to receive a bill this week for part of the surgery's costs that weren't covered by their insurance company.

Suffice it to say that money is not the most abundant commodity at their disposal these days.

But God's provision is!

Today, in the mail, they received a check via their church from somebody in their fellowship who wanted to remain anonymous.  The money came completely unsolicited - my friends had not petitioned their church for financial assistance.  Somebody from the congregation was simply led by our Lord to arrange with their church to quietly furnish an amount of money as a gift to my friends.

And get this:  it is the same amount as the surprise bill from the surgery center!

I don't know about you, but true stories like this from friends who are trustworthy - and don't make up this kind of stuff - provide me with such encouragement!  God truly knows our needs, doesn't He, financial and otherwise?  From the way my friend tells this story, it's not so much the monetary help from their anonymous benefactors, but the fact that they even thought of doing it that makes this so special.

Indeed, this lovely surprise isn't entirely anonymous, is it?  Ultimately, it came from God Himself, and somebody allowed Him to use themself for His glory.  Plus, whomever it was got to enjoy the fun of being a clandestine conduit of His generosity.  God loves a cheerful giver, doesn't He, and it's fun to give cheerfully.  The clerk in their church's office who processed this surprise also gets to share in the joy of seeing such love and service.  Doesn't the whole thing just make you smile?

There's not much more editorializing or opinionating that's necessary here for us to revel in God's goodness, providence, and timing.  So let's do so, with gratitude for these reminders that He truly cares for us!

 Great is Thy faithfulness!  Great is Thy faithfulness!
 Morning by morning, new mercies I see.
 All I have needed Thy hand has provided!
 Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.  - Thomas Chisholm (1866–1960)