Some time back, Jackie and I decided to start checking out various auto
dealers for a used SUV-type vehicle for Jackie's home-care work. Some of
the roads she navigates are remote and pretty rough, so we needed
something higher off the ground than a car.
After praying about
this, we checked out our local places, then took a trip to Kamloops. We
spent pretty much the whole day looking at and test-driving various
vehicles, none of which had the right combination of price, visibility,
and comfort for Jackie's back.
As dusk was settling in and we
were thinking we weren't going to find anything that day after all, we
drove to the opposite end of town and happened to notice another
dealership.
As we strolled onto their lot, a salesman mentioned
that they had just received delivery of a used vehicle that had been
driven in from Alberta, which had actually arrived ahead of time. The
asking price was in our ballpark, so we decided to take it out for a
test drive with this fellow.
As we were driving around, Jackie
knew that this was definitely going to be our best bet. The salesman
asked us where we were from and what we did, and when we mentioned that
I was a Christian pastor, he surprised us by saying that he himself was
a new Christian, and that his brother had just recently led him to
receive Jesus into his life as Lord and Saviour.
We then had a
really good chat together with this new brother in Christ, getting to
know him a little better in sharing things from the Lord in our lives.
By the time we got back and made the deal for the vehicle, it was past
closing time at the dealership. After we had signed all the paperwork,
our new friend, Murray, told us that he had been praying for a
desperately-needed financial boost, as he and his family had really been
hit hard. He then thanked and praised God (and us), because it was the
last day of the month, and this sale was just enough to qualify him for
their monthly sales bonus.
Talk about God's perfect timing in
answering prayer! A place we had no intention of bothering with, a
vehicle arriving ahead of time, a Christian in need, the right thing for
us at the right price, and desperately-needed bonus money for Murray and
his family for which he qualified on the last day of the month and after
business hours. Just before we left, he phoned his wife with this great
news as to why he was late getting home. Murray thought that he had run
out of time for this to happen, but for God, it was just another display
of His perfect timing in all things.
Not all of our prayers are
answered in such dramatic ways, but it is encouraging to know that our
God is a God of love and power, and that He does have miraculous ways of
providing for our needs. We just need to trust Him.
Prayer: Lord,
help us never to forget that You are in control and that You love us.
Help us to trust Your timing in the working out of Your will in our
lives and in all things. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Bruce Wilcox Lac La Hache, British Columbia, Canada
Thanks to
PresbyCan Daily Devotional
