STUNNED BY GOD’S WINDFALL -- PSALM 105

He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,
    and from among their tribes no one faltered...

⁴⁰ They asked, and he brought them quail;
    he fed them well with the bread of heaven.
⁴¹ He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed like a river in the desert.

⁴² For he remembered his holy promise
    given to his servant Abraham.
⁴³ He brought out his people with rejoicing,
    his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
⁴⁴ he gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—
⁴⁵ that they might keep his precepts
    and observe his laws.

Praise the Lord.

I recently received a financial windfall.  I wasn’t surprised, because I had been expecting it for a long time.  And yet I am completely stunned by God’s ways!  You see, I was expecting it because God had made a promise to me.  He made a promise to me when I was destitute, when I was in debt, when I was desperate.

In 2005 I was facing such financial pressure that I cried out to God.  I remember I was on my knees on my kitchen floor, weeping.  I felt him say, “Hold out your hands.”  I opened my empty hands, and in my mind’s eye I could see him pouring in money. He poured and poured until the money filled my hands and even covered me.  In my mind I heard the words, “This one’s on me.  Your debt will be paid off early.”

Each year since then I have done what I could to work and pay down my debts.  Sickness, unemployment, and bills arising from the death of both parents have only increased the debt.  No prospect of relief was in sight, and yet I never forgot that strong promise I felt from God.

Then God did exactly what he had promised.  When I added up all my current debt, it was within a few dollars of the amount that God has now sent me!  And it is a year early – just as he promised!

He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed like a river in the desert.

Aren’t I right in saying, “Praise the Lord!”

Won’t he do the same for you?  Ask him.