Faith

How God Provides in the Fires of Life

by Lindsey Pitts
11/24/13
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The text message read, “My truck is stolen.”

What?  That can’t be right.  We just moved here a week ago! We NEED that truck to move the 5^th wheel we are living in! 

It was not a great kick-off to our traveling adventure.  I went to pick up my husband at the store where he had last seen his truck.  He was speaking with the police officer, who was a bit surprised that this had happened here—right across the street from the police station. 

As I sat there in that surreal moment, my mind went to some inspirational words a friend had shared with me years ago.  She reminded me of the story of how the silversmith refines his silver.  He must heat it up to a specific degree or it will be ruined.  If it is too hot, he will burn it.  If it is not hot enough, it will still have impurities.  The story says that God deals with us the same way.  He knows exactly what we need to refine our character.  He will not give us a burden that is too big to bear—that will burn us.  He will not leave us unfinished either.  Just as the silversmith refines the silver until he can see his reflection in the metal, God uses circumstances in our lives to refine us until He can see His image in our lives. 

So I had a choice.  Our truck was gone.  I could be angry.  I could complain or lash out.  Or I could let God use this fire in my life to refine me.  I could praise Him that my husband wasn’t hurt by the thief.  I could pray and wait, to see how God would provide.

A meaningful quote from the song “Sometimes He Calms the Storm” by Scott Krippayne came to mind.  The song reminds us that while “sometimes [God] calms the storm, sometimes He calms His child.”  I had no reassurance that we would get our truck back.  I knew we were not in a financial place where we could easily resolve this issue, but I also knew that my powerful God IS in that place.  God always provides!  Even if we do not understand HOW God provides; nevertheless, He always has a plan. 

Our fire burned hotter over the next few days as we realized how much we had lost along with our truck.  There were so many important (and expensive) items inside of it! But the item that really tested our faith was our file box.  It contained all of our important documents—birth certificates, social security cards, and much more. 

I frantically called government offices and applied for fraud alerts with the credit reporting agencies.  I discovered that with children, there are no preventive measures.  If the identity of one of my three children was stolen, we would have to deal with that after the fact.  I was distressed.  I felt like this fire was burning me. 

Then we got a phone call.  A man who lived 35 minutes away had seen a bunch of papers in a field next the highway near his home.  He and his son spent their whole afternoon in that field and down the highway picking up the papers from our file box that had been tossed out of the truck!  Wow!  It was amazing to watch how God provides! And He wasn’t finished yet.

Our truck was recovered.  It was totally stripped on the inside.  But the engine was intact, and our 5^th wheel hitch was still there!  However, the insurance company said we couldn’t have the truck back.  That’s their policy on stolen vehicles.  They would give us a check to replace it, about half of what we paid for the truck.  We wouldn’t be able to replace it.  We were stuck. 

Then we got another phone call.  The insurance agent had found a loophole.  We could have our truck back!  And they would give us a check to repair the stripped interior!  Wow!

God showed His care for us in amazing ways through this experience. God ALWAYS provides!  In the process, He teaches us to trust Him.  As one inspirational Bible verse states, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”  (1 Corinthians 10:13, NASB)