Whats Next?

If you remember at the end of the last part, we had just found out that our daughter needed dental work asap. However, we had no money for the procedure and we had a deep conviction that God did not want us to go into debt. We had seen Him provide for our previous debts and bring us back to even keel, however, this new news along with no money in the bank left us a little down and out.

We turned to the only thing we knew, God. We (Katie and I) came together in prayer and we asked only what we knew to ask, God please provide.

Each time we would take one step forward, it would feel like the next ten were backwards. We, like anyone else, struggled with doubt. How could God ever answer prayers that seemed so undoable? Remember, we were praying for a new truck, dental work for our daughter, and land down toward town where we longed to be. All together, this would be over $250,000 and my biggest income in the past three years was a little under $40,000.

On top of the normal doubts, I struggled with "Why would God do this for me?" After all, who am I in the grand scheme of things. Just a little spec in the vast ocean of sand. Why would He see the need to reach down and bless me when others in the world struggled just to eat on a daily basis?

This is where He took me back to George Mueller's story. Many times George would have a notion to move in a direction, but before he would, he always would stop and ask God to confirm in his heart that this was His true direction.

I want to emphasize that this was a journey. A difficult one. My heart and mind wrestled with the truth I knew from Scripture. I really wondered why God would want to bless me. This oft times made me struggle to pray and ask Him to meet our desires. However, these desires, especially the one to be back closer to town and remain out of debt, grew daily. With the strengthening of these desires, I became certain this is what He wanted, so our prayers intensified.

It was not long before, God began to be more specific with me, and our prayers became more passionate. What He did next was truly amazing!

The Next Step Forward

George's life story left a huge imprint on my life. In many ways I felt as if I had met my brother in both Spirit and heart. First, we both felt debt was a grievous burden. We desired to live our lives on faith in God alone. We desired for people to know that whatever happened in our lives, it was God and God alone who deserved the glory. I was envigerated by his story to follow the things I felt Father leading me to do. 

Now remember, my wife and I were in a place we felt hopeless and lost. We were "stuck" in our minds and we wanted freedom more than anything else. After reading George's story and sharing it point by point with my wife, we followed his example, we began to pray. We asked God to rsecue us and we laid our desires at his feet and his feet alone. We began to pray specific prayers and waited on Him for his answer. 

We prayed for financial freedom from the current debt we were in. We began to ask for a place if our own paid for in full. More specifically, we desired a small farm and a place we could continue to raise our sheep and a few cows. I need a newer vehicle, so we asked for it. 

Almost immediately God began to work. Some things started happening in my work that opened up some doors. Within 45 days he had paid off our current debt of over $40,000. All in ways we could have never expected or took credit for. We began to feel a since of hope. 

Then it happened........

Our oldest daughter began to complain of tooth pains. She had been dealing with it for awhile, but it was now getting serious. When we went to the dentist, the worst of our fears for her situation were confirmed. Every possible bad trait we could have given her dental wise, she had. One permanent molar was in need of being pulled ASAP. She also needed braces as some of her permanent eye teeth were compacted. All in total, $7,000 was needed to do the work. Our only problem is we were $7,000 short of that amount. 

Just when things seemed they were going in the right direction, it suddenly felt as if we had been blasted back to the bottom of the pit. Our only resort in this situation was to pray. So prayed we did......