So many things are easier said than done, are they not? We Christians often hear, “Let go and let God,” or “Cast your burdens upon the Lord” (1 Peter 5:7), or “In your weakness he is strong.” And indeed, many of us would vigorously affirm that we believe those things. But do we really?
Not long ago, someone at a Christian organization made a clerical error that cost my husband and me, our family, nearly ten thousand dollars. We were beside ourselves. It was not our fault, but here we were, suffering the financial consequences because of what was presumably an innocent mistake by a data-entry person. Some advised us to report the person. I had strong reasons to believe that if I were to go to the supervisors, this person could get fired—which could potentially cost the person much more than the ten thousand dollars we lost. Furthermore, I knew the organization did not have money to pay us back. Even so, several people advised us to file a complaint.
In the end, though some might think us foolish, we did not file a complaint for fear the person responsible for the error would lose their job. It was an easy decision for the good of the person, but a hard decision to swallow for our finances. What was especially difficult was that we were already taking on additional employment in hopes of paying off debts from sudden vehicle breakdowns, emergency room visits, a move, and home repair. We were about to be free of the debt when we received the unfortunate news. My husband cried out in an initial fit of despair, “Why can’t we ever get ahead even when we do everything right?” His existential cry radiated out and right into me. His pain pained me deeply. What were we going to do?
Well, we prayed. “God, you alone can help us!” Then when I was all by myself, I said out loud, “Lord you’ve got to do this! We can’t. It’ll be interesting to see how you get us out of this one without us having to work ourselves to the bone.” In that moment, I felt the Lord ask me to trust him—to let go of my need of trying to solve it—and the worry and anxiety that comes with that.
I can assure you the Lord has a funny sense of humor and unexpected ways of demonstrating his love and faithfulness. Soon after we found out, I spoke at a conference. As I was about to board the airplane to go home, the employee behind the desk at the terminal announced the airplane was overbooked and asked for volunteers to take the 7 p.m. flight to Detroit, instead of the 4 p.m. flight. Delta would give them a $500 gift card. For me, getting home was a necessity because the next day at 2:30 pm I was set to graduate. While I was thinking about it, someone jumped at that offer. Next, they announced, “If you give up your seat, we will pay for you to stay in a hotel of your choice and give you $800, plus a ticket for the 8:30 a.m. flight.” They were getting desperate; they had overbooked the airplane by six people. At that point I was thinking, “I could make it to graduation on time if I stay overnight.” I hurriedly called Shawn because I heard people all around me considering it. We figured I could easily make graduation. So, I quickly took the deal. I gave up my seat. After I took the offer, I said to the Lord, “You’ve got to be kidding me, you are hilarious!” I knew this unexpected happenstance and offer were his way of reminding me that he heard our prayer.
As I said, after we found out about the error, I was convinced God had to do something to provide for us. We could not. I did not know how or when; I just knew he had to help us, or we were sunk. “Your heavenly Father knows what you need,” Matthew 6:32 tells us. The situation at the Delta terminal and the gift card were God’s little and very particular reminder of his recognition of our plight. To date, we still owe something like seven-thousand dollars. It is trickling in, not all at once, but every little extra unexpected amount that comes in towards that debt is a reminder of God’s refreshing faithfulness to us. In fact, I received another unforeseen and unexpected amount this morning. It is so refreshing not to be entangled in worry and to let God take care of this. He is bearing our burden; I don’t have to!
—Written by Marlena Graves. Used by permission from the author.
One Response
Wow, this was well-timed for me in reading this just now. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed because I have so much on my plate, my funds are quite limited and I’m constantly trying to juggle expenses to keep from incurring additional costs. Reading your post was God’s way of reminding me that I need to Let Go. And He can and will handle my situations better than I ever could, I just need to surrender.