All Needs Met
In October of 1979 I experienced a typical attack of the devil in an effort to discourage me from trusting in God! Doyle had begun laying the foundation of Jesus Christ and him crucified in my heart, and now I was going to get an opportunity to put it to work. God had spoken Matthew 6:33 to me,
Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
I was working for a paint contractor, and primarily, we were refurbishing vacant apartments for several apartment complexes. As a so-called vendor, we were to be paid 30 days after an invoice was presented upon completion of an apartment. I had worked with this paint contractor for nearly a year by now, and we had always been paid regularly. Then ownership of the apartments changed over the summer from Dallas, Tx. to Los Angeles, California, obviously several hundred miles away. What had been regular 30-day payment soon became 45 days, and then 60 days. The contractor called and complained, but there was little he could do since the ownership was so far away. During this period, God was very gracious to us! On paper and in our checkbook, there was no way we should have been able to survive by what we could see. However, all of our bills were paid, food was on the table, and a roof was over our head. In short, all of our needs were met. I'm not telling you that I didn't shake during this time because I had never experienced anything like this before. However, I truly wanted to believe God would do what he had promised, and I wanted him to prove it to me! Oh, yes, I could have asked others for assistance or gone to the bank for a loan, and I was not too proud to do so. I just knew it was not the will of God to ask anyone else and say I was trusting God! I later learned Philippians 4:6 states,
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Also verse 19, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Well, about the time I would be ready to faint, God would say, "Stand fast, and see my salvation!" I would stand and say, "Okay, but this better be you!" The contractor told us that he had threatened to go to a lawyer and file suit for non-payment. That sounded like a good idea to me, but God said to me, "He won't have to do that!" I asked, "What did you say?" God repeated, "He won't have to do that! Go tell him!" So I went and told him that he didn't need a lawyer, but I didn't have the courage to tell him that God had told me! You see, I wasn't totally sure it was God myself, but I wanted to believe. God continued to strengthen and encourage Kathy and me. Finally, the length of non-payment grew to 90 days, we are still painting more apartments, and our non-payment invoices are growing to a large stack worth several thousand dollars. Shortly after the first of the year, 1980, on Thursday of the week, the contractor said, "I have scheduled an appointment with a lawyer on Monday if they do not pay us tomorrow!" By now, I had gotten a little bolder, and I told him that God said he didn't need a lawyer. He said, "That's fine, and I hope your right, but I still have the appointment!" He was polite, but it was obvious that he didn't believe, and the devil tormented me with this thought, "You're nuts! It will never happen! You'll never see that money!" I put off those thoughts, thank God, and my heart remained strong! That night, Kathy and I ate the last food in our house, and no one else knew. We then began to pray and worship God, and after about an hour, the power of God filled the room, and up out of my heart, I began to pray the blessings listed in Deuteronomy 28 for obeying God. It was the Spirit of God that gave me that prayer, because I didn't know those verses by memory. In fact, after praying, I looked them up in the bible to make sure what I had prayed. It was very encouraging. On Friday, I went to work, and there was no change in the response from the apartment owners. The contractor said he was filing suit with a lawyer on Monday, and I still stood and said, "You don't have to!" God encouraged us that night as someone asked us out to eat, which was good since we had no food in the cupboard! On Saturday we received enough money to give on Sunday, but not enough to pay several hundred dollar's worth of bills due the next week. God had taught me Matt. 6:34,
Take no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
I told Kathy, "We're going to give to God just like always!" Someone called us, told us they had made a big pot of stew, and wondered if we would like some. We said sure, thanked them, and then thanked God, because he was encouraging us, "I'm with you!" Praise God! On Sunday morning, the phone rang before church, and a man asked if we were going to be at church. I told him that we would, and he asked me to see him after church. At the conclusion of the service, I talked with the man, and he said that God woke him up at 2:00 a.m. and said to give you this. He handed me an envelope and went his way. When I got to the car, I opened it and found enough money to pay bills and supply food for the week. Nothing had ever happened to me like this before, but I was learning to like it. Praise God! The next morning (Monday), I went to work, and the contractor said, "Well, I called California, and the secretary said the checks were not written, so I'm on my way to the lawyer at 11:00!" It was 9:30, and I thought, "Lord, you said he didn't need a lawyer!" It still seemed right. I know he told me to stand fast and see his salvation. I didn't say anything to anyone. I just prayed to myself. The contractor left about 10:00 to go to lawyer's office. He returned about 45 minutes later with a huge grin on his face. I said, "I thought you were going to see the lawyer!" He gleefully replied, "I was, but called my wife on the way, and she went to the mailbox at 10:30, and all of the checks from California were there!" I yelled, "Glory to God!" I didn't care if anyone else believed! I knew God had come through, and I believed! Actually, God was beginning to establish the gospel of the kingdom in my heart, and not trust in man or any thing I could see, but trust in the power of God unto salvation! Someone may ask, "How did those checks arrive that had not been written?" My answer is, "Have you not heard of angels?" If I had not believed in angels before, after that experience, I sure did!