I was reading in Matthew (a wonderful book filled with Jesus’ parables and miracles) when I recognized something for the first time at the end of chapter 17. It has certainly changed my perspective. And, perhaps it will change yours too.
In chapter 17 the tax collectors had confronted Peter about the taxes they felt Jesus owed. When Peter came to Jesus about this matter, they had a short conversation, then Jesus told Peter what to do. This is the part that really hit me. Peter was to go to the lake and fish. The first fish he caught would have a coin in its mouth that would cover the taxes owed for both Jesus and Peter.
I’m sorry, friends, but for me this seems incredibly far-fetched! No! I am not saying the Bible is wrong. I’m saying I realized that “my common sense” could have prevented me from following the instructions Jesus gave. They were beyond my reasoning.
It was at that moment a lightbulb went off in my head. How many times in my life has God made provision for my needs and I walked right past it because it didn’t make sense to me? It looked different than what I expected.
I remember one time years ago when I actually recognized His uncommon provision. On my front door I found a yellow slip from our mortgage company. It indicated that our mortgage had not been paid and that they were checking the house for occupancy. I was both shocked and frightened because I knew that our bank balance would not cover what they said we owed. John was out of town on business and I had absolutely no clue what to do. Panic set in and then prayers went up!
A few moments later I heard a knock on the door. It was a man from our insurance company. He explained that he had been in our neighborhood to check our neighbor’s roof for hail damage and had also checked ours since we were covered by the same company. He handed me a check to cover the damage. The amount of the check actually covered our past due mortgage and all the materials we needed to repair the roof if we did it ourselves. (At that time it was wood shingles and easy to do.)
Honestly, we could have been blinded by our panic and our pride. We could have hired a company and spent the money to get the roof done and then tried to figure out how to pay the mortgage. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit opened our eyes to the provision God had already made.
I share this with you to encourage you to keep your eyes open for God’s uncommon ways to provide. His Word says that He will supply all our needs according to His riches and glory (Php 4:19). It just might not look like what we expect because His ways are higher (Isa 55:8-9). To provide is His part. To recognize and implement it is our part.
Who knows, He might just ask you to go fishing! Will you be willing to trust and obey?
