Thank you for joining us on this journey to 31 Days of Living by Faith. I hop it has blessed you in some small way. If you’re new, you can begin reading 31 Days of faith here. Each day is listed in the title, so scroll down until you reach Day 1.
Today I welcome Jill. We collided in blogland a long time ago, and I am so glad we did. She’s a funny woman with a wonderful outlook on life. Hope you enjoy her story of living by faith.
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I’ve heard it said before that faith can be demonstrated with a chair. You can insist all you want to that a chair will hold you, but it’s the moment when you actually sit in the chair that you’re truly putting your faith in the chair.
I trusted Christ for salvation at a very early age, so I’ve exercised that particular faith most of my life. I also believe that God can do anything, but saying I believe it and actually putting my faith in Him for it are often two different things.
Quite a few years ago we found ourselves in possession of a truck, but without the funds to make the payments. We had struggled for quite a while, but finally it got to the point where the truck had to be sold.
After we put it up for sale, I found myself worrying about what would happen if we didn’t sell it before the next payment was due. There was no money to make the payment, no more savings to draw from, and no hope of getting the payment amount any time in the near future. I finally decided I needed to trust God to take care of things for us, and I prayed daily that the truck would sell.
The payment due date came and went, without anyone even showing interest in our truck. That particular payment had a ten day grace period. Each day I prayed and each day I expected to see a buyer come look at the truck. Day after day nothing happened, and my prayers started getting a little frantic. I put “more effort” into believing God would take care of this, and I reminded Him of His promises.
At the end of the ten days, I was really struggling to believe. No one had even called about the truck in over two weeks, and I could not understand why God would let us down.
I came back from the grocery store that day to an empty spot on the curb where the truck usually sat. Hardly daring to believe God had answered my prayers, I asked Terry if someone had bought the truck. He shrugged. “They’re taking it for a test drive, but they said it’s not really what they’re looking for, and I don’t think they’re interested.”
The brief shot of adrenalin to my faith disappeared, and I took the groceries inside. “You could have handled this,” I prayed angrily. “You said You wouldn’t let us down. I’ve been believing, but nothing’s been happening!”
In my heart I realized that I’d been more surprised when I thought the truck was gone then I was that it hadn’t sold. Clearly my faith wasn’t as strong as I thought, but God should still have taken care of us, I reasoned.
My prayers turned to apologies about an hour later. Not only did the people buy our truck for our asking price, but the guy made a living as a piano tuner. My piano had needed tuning for well over a year, but we’d never had the money to take care of it. This guy did it for free.
Truly humbled, I thanked God for His goodness. It was as if He was helping me strengthen my weak faith by waiting until the last minute, and then throwing in extra blessings besides.
Although strengthening our faith is not always the most pleasant thing, it is wonderful the way God helps us to grow spiritually. Terry and I have faced many more difficult moments in the years since then. We’ve put our faith in God once again, but at times I find myself wondering if even God can do what needs to be done.
And then I remember the truck.
Jill Boyd is a pastor’s wife, mother of six, homeschooling mom, secretary and aspiring writer. She hopes to write a book someday on raising children because, after raising one girl and five boys, she feels that someone ought to benefit from all the mistakes she’s made.
Domestically challenged, Jill refuses to attempt a craft unless duct tape is involved. She’s also less than a success in the kitchen, and it’s rumored that she’s not allowed to bring anything more than ice to the monthly church potlucks.
Visit Jill on her blog, www.jillboydsplace.blogspot.com to read about her attempts to kill off her inner Martha Stewart, and to find out what it’s like living in a household full of males without giving in to the urge to scratch and spit occasionally.
I’m so glad you included the honest line about sometimes wondering if even God can do what needs to be done. I believe that many of us have that thought from time to time. Thanks for a genuine look at what it looks like when our faith is “truck-sized”.