Risk

Some of you know the story of my Suburban.

We had a minivan that died. Like permanently died. While I was driving Raelyn back from a birthday party. We had talked about buying a new car, but in the past when we prayed about a vehicle, God had always come through. So we decided to not buy a car and pray about God providing us with one.

One particularly miserable day, a few days after the death of the minivan, I was walking home from taking Baylee to school. I was wet, cold, and cranky, hating to have wet feet that I can never seem to get warm in a Wisconsin spring. I remember praying, "God, if your going to provide a car, you better do it fast, because I'm not sure how long I'm going to be able to walk in this cold."

I got to our house, peeled off my wet socks, and Eli burst in through the door.

Unaware of my prayer just minutes before, he said, "Guess what!" threw an envelop at me. I opened it, and to my surprise (which shouldn't have been my surprise), there was enough money to buy a Shackelford vehicle.

Eli had had lunch with a young man that our family was just beginning a relationship with. When they were done, the man had handed Eli an envelope with a simple explanation of, "God told me to give this to you." Eli didn't even open it until he was in the driveway of our home.

A few days later, we received a phone call from our church board informing us that our church had decided to give us the Suburban.

God provided ABOVE and BEYOND what we NEEDED.

Fast forward to present time.

The Suburban had been giving me trouble since Christmas. It got bad enough that I stopped using it except for dire necessities because I ended up calling Eli to come jump me whenever I did. When I was walking Baylee to school in the snow, I prayed my familiar prayer, "God, provide me with a car that works, because I'm not sure how long I can walk in this cold."

Eli and I took the car into the shop last week and asked them to fix whatever the problem was with the Suburban. When we went to pick it up the next day, a lady from our church was there with a man I had never met. The woman introduced us, and before I realized what was happening, the man had payed the entire bill for our car.

I think perhaps we're able to see God answering our prayers so clearly in these kind of situations because we've actually allowed ourselves to come to a place of real need.

As Americans, we've learned to provide a "safety net" for ourselves in case of emergency.

Money. Housing. Family. Friends. Health. Jobs. Ministry. School.

We rarely put ANYTHING on the line to watch God work. We try to eliminate the risk factor in every way possible.

We've gotten so good at providing for ourselves, that we don't leave much room to depend on God.

Prayer.

Dependence.

Risk.

Prayers are often answered

By God

Through dependent people

Taking risks.

Which side of the Risk are you on?