I've had this story rumbling around in my head for days. When I sat down
to write this week's post, I couldn't get it off my mind. I didn't remember if
I had written about it before, so I dug through the archives and found this
post from over four years ago. I'm wondering if you might have a need
you're wondering whether God knows about. Watch for that telephone call from God.
Our
family has a very serious need. I do not share the details, because it
betrays another’s confidence. But, I’ve been praying and fasting about it, not
to hold God over a barrel in some way, but that I might be strengthened to
persevere, to have hope, and to believe for God’s answer. During the fast,
which ended about a week ago, I prayed Isaiah 58:6 repeatedly, “Is not this the
kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the
cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”
I
wanted to DO something to solve this problem, but as I prayed, I kept getting
scriptures that had to do with rest. It’s as if God said, “Trust me in this.
Don’t act, just trust and rest.”
I’ll
explain it by using a white horse as a symbol of the need. Our family
needs a very special white horse. In addition, we need it to be somewhere other
than the town we live in, somewhere like Bonner Springs, Kansas. We don’t know
anyone there, much less anyone that owns one, and even if we did, there are so
many white horses, how would we find the one animal suitable for us. It has
seemed an overwhelming, impossible thing.
Here’s
what happened. On Wednesday, I was outside, and when I came in, we'd received a
phone call.
I pressed play on the answering machine. “Hello, this is Andrea Rain, and this message is for Jill. I received a message that you were looking for a white horse, and I have many. I’m sure that one will be suitable for you. Just give me a call. And by the way, I live in Bonner Springs, Kansas.”
No one
named Jill lives at our house. It was a wrong number. But a wrong number with
the message about the very thing we were looking for in the very place we
wanted it to be. I played the message over and over and over, then I called
Andrea and left a request for her to call me. Let me reiterate that we have not
shared this with anyone outside our immediate family.
When
she telephoned, and I relayed my story, she was amazed. It’s as if God dialed
the number for her.
The
wrong number for her.
The right
number for God.
The
right number for us.
This
horse represents one of the most critical needs our family has ever had, but we
sense the God of the universe ismoving on our behalf in a remarkable way. We
stand in AWE.
UPDATE: It turned out that we didn't get our horse from Andrea, but we did meet with her. She was a wonderful Christian who agreed to pray for us in our search, and in a short time, we had the very horse we needed. In the years ahead, God would continue to provide for this need in such an extraordinary way that we still stand in awe. Today, we no longer need the white horse. Our God is amazing.
“…are you fainting in prayer? Look up. Your blessed Advocate has already
claimed your answer, and you would grieve and disappoint Him if you were to
give up the conflict in the very moment when victory is on its way to meet you.
He has gone in for you into the inner chamber, and already holds up your name
upon the palms of His hands; and the messenger, which is to bring you your
blessing, is now on his way, and the Spirit is only waiting your trust to
whisper in your heart the echo of the answer from the throne, “It is done.” A.
B. Simpson