Page 114 - Evidence of Things Unseen

knew God would move us. He asked me if they could help us look for a place, and I
respectfully declined his assistance. I shared with him that we wanted to know that the
provision came from the Lord and felt that we were to rest and trust in Him.
The following Sunday my wife was talking to a lady from the church, and she also
asked if she could help look for a place for us. As I was standing nearby, I once more poured
water on the altar by telling her that it was not necessary for her to assist in this way.
The 29th of April came and we still had no prospect of a place to move. In all of this
time, however, the Lord had allowed us to know an unusual peace that we had not
previously experienced. The day began with individual prayer, and then our family met
together. We reminded ourselves of all that the Lord had spoken to us, encouraging one
another in our faith. We then prayed and asked God to manifest His provision quickly.
Some of the people of the church had arranged to get together and help us move, and
they were to meet at our house on the morning of the 30th. We had already boxed
everything up, and had as much as possible of our belongings stacked and ready to go out
the door. I was considering how closely the Lord was taking us down to the wire. We were
within one day of people from the church showing up to move us, and we still had no clue
where we would move.
After we prayed Tony went and checked her e-mail, and then she excitedly called me
into the room. In her inbox was an e-mail from a lady at the church telling us about a house
she had heard about that was coming available, and it was close to the community and
church building and sounded like it might be a good fit for our needs. Tony was excited,
however I experienced reservations.
The Christian sister who had e-mailed this information was one that we had asked to
not go out and look for a place for us, and it came into my spirit that if she had gone and
found this place for us that it would not provide as strong of a testimony to the church
about the Lord’s ability and willingness to handle things Himself. I did not want any man
or woman to claim that they provided a place for us. I desired that the glory should go to
God.
For about an hour I struggled with this issue. I considered how close we were to the
end of our time and we had no other prospects. If I turned this down, and nothing else
materialized, we would look like great fools and it could even lead to homelessness for our
family. Yet if I accepted this house not having a clear conscience before God that I had acted
in faith, then I knew God would not be honored and we would lose a great blessing. After
wrestling with this issue I called our family together and I told my wife that she would have
to call this lady and tell her that if she had gone and found this house for us that we could
not accept it. In doing so I was pouring water on the altar for a third time.
Tony went outside to make the call, and when she came back in she had news to share.
She related to us that this woman had wanted to go look for a place for us, but her husband
told her that they needed to honor my wishes by not seeking a place. She had obeyed her
husband and had not looked for a place. She then shared how two different people had
called her the previous day to tell her about this place that was coming available, not
knowing about our situation at all. A young couple was moving out of a double wide home
set in the midst of pastureland on the family farm, and the parents of the young man were
seeking to find if anyone in the community knew of a family needing a place to live. The
people who owned the property were not even members of the church we were visiting, and
they had no knowledge of us. The lady who contacted us confirmed that she did not go
seeking a place.