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Posts Tagged ‘God’s provision’

Sometimes it seems the easiest thing to do is to give our child what he wants and make him happy. It is such a temptation to be the answer to our child’s wants and needs rather than teaching him to believe God for it or to work for it.

When our daughter, Janina, got her new puppy, Briggie, it wasn’t without faith, hardwork and tears.  When she first brought up the idea of getting a Maltese, we told her that she will have to use her own savings. Not only that, we wanted her to be the one to look for one that is affordably priced. Paolo and I thought that this would be good training for her. We would pray with her for the puppy but we expected her to do all the legwork necessary.

We saw Janina spending hours online and on the phone looking for a Maltese and comparing prices.  She learned what questions to ask the sellers and how to haggle for a lower price. There were nice, accommodating people and rude to very rude people, and she learned to deal with all kinds. One night, after weeks of doing that, she was in tears because she couldn’t find one that fit her budget. It was at this point when Paolo and I almost gave in, and thought of just raising the money ourselves to help out our little girl. But somehow a voice inside us told us to step out of the way and teach Janina to wait on God and believe Him for His provision. Janina was already getting impatient and desperate, yet God commanded us to stay away from the situation. That is not always easy for us parents especially when we see our child distraught and discouraged.  We realized that this was as much a lesson for us as parents as it was for Janina.

A few days after that incident, Janina auditioned for the musical “Sound of Music.” Thank God for His favor, Janina made it! With the money that she will earn, she could finally buy the Maltese she’s been wanting and be able to pay even for the dog’s food for life . No wonder God told us to step out of the way–He has already set His plan in motion!

I think about that and wonder what would have happened if we took matters into our hands and made things happen for Janina. Then Janina would have missed out on experiencing first hand the faithfulness of her Heavenly Father as her provider. And we as parents would have missed God’s assurance for us that He will take care of our children.

I realize that sometimes our goal for our children is so short-term. They want something, we give it to them. They’re happy. End of story. But God is not just concerned about our children getting what they want and making them happy.  He wants our children to get to know Him better and to grow in their faith as they wait upon Him. He wants a relationship with our children.

“Oh how great is the love the Father has lavished on us!”

If your faith needs a boost, I want you to read this story. It may be a little lengthy but it is such a great testimony of God’s faithfulness and provision.

I called my friend the other day to ask her how she was doing, since her eldest and only daughter just left to study in the US. Her daughter graduated top of her class in highschool and was granted a scholarship in one of the universities in California. Naturally, she was filled with emotion, with a lot of thoughts running through her head, such as “Will she make it without me?” Her only consolation was to hope they could raise enough funds for her daughter to come home next year and spend the summer with the family.

Now she relates this story to me… Her husband was the one who accompanied her daughter on the flight and will help her get settled in her new would be home for the next four years. Before they left, funny as it sounds, they were told to dress up nicely for the flight so that they have a greater chance to be upgraded to business class. But unfortunately, they were stuck in economy class for the first leg of the trip. Once in Japan, the airline personnel announced that the flight to the US was overbooked and they needed volunteers to stay the night in Japan and take the flight the next day instead in exchange for $600 travel voucher per person and free hotel accommodation. Her husband thought, “This is enough to cover one round trip ticket. My daughter can come home next year!” So this father and daughter team happily volunteered. The next step was to get a one day visa to Japan since they had to leave the airport to go to the hotel. And this is the anti-climactic part… they were not granted visas!! And their hearts sank.

With the kind of disappointment that normally comes with the non-fulfillment of one’s hopes and dreams, they walked back to the airline personnel to explain about the visa situation and say that they had to be on the flight after all. And this is where it gets exciting! Even if they were not able to give up their seats, as a token of their goodwill to volunteer, the airline still gave them two $600 travel vouchers!! And not only that, they were both upgraded to business class!! And they got to fly to the US as scheduled! In short, they got the travel vouchers and the upgrade at no cost at all!! Now, how awesome is that?!!

If you are a child of God, your setbacks in life are really divine set-ups for God to step right into your situation and turn things around for your favor!

Psalm 5:12 (NIV)
Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

This is Janina’s new puppy, a 6-week old maltese, whom she named Briggie. She is so cute isn’t she? The story of how she got her is coming soon!

No, I’m not pregnant! Just wanted to make that clear. But yesterday, at my ob’s clinic, i bumped into a friend who was pregnant for the 3rd time. Her husband and she weren’t planning on a 3rd baby so when they found out they were both initially upset, to say the least. She cried, but they were not really tears of joy, more of worry and anxiety. Her mind started to fastforward to the future and she began to think of bills to pay when they can hardly make ends meet at the present.

I asked her what helped her overcome her initial shock. She told me that as she read Genesis 1, she was reminded that before God created man, He created the land and the seas first, all the plants and trees and animals. God made sure that man had everything he needed before He created him.

This passage assured my friend that even before she conceived the baby in her womb, God had already made the preparations for her. When it is time for her baby to be born, she can trust God that He will provide for everything that they will ever need all throughout her baby’s life. There is no “unexpected” with God.

Having 4 kids, I am greatly encouraged by what she shared! There are days when I do think about the future and the amount of money we need to come up with to give our kids a good education and bring them to different places, among others. But when I start to focus on God and how faithful He has been, and how big He is, all worries fade away.