We know that God's word states that His ways are above our ways. I have found that when we say we trust the Lord, it must come with the commitment to endure his timing and do so without question.
It's easy for us to get up and preach faith. We can talk about Job and his losses, but we always follow with his blessings (with a hearty emphasis on his blessings); but to say the words "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away" takes more than just a good feeling on a Sunday night. It takes a solid assurance that the Lord is working for my good, along with the understanding that not everything will be comprehended by my finite mind, and not everything that takes place within my life is going to be good.
I have been to the point of frustration many times since late last year when we placed our house on the market. We priced it very competitively and then dropped the price to make it more appealing. It has not sold. It has had very little traffic other than the ton of flyers that we have put out by the sign. I know we are in the will of God, for He is doing mighty things in our lives. I have been the target of more prophetic words this year than in my entire ministry or life. We know without a doubt that we are going in the specific direction the Lord wants us to... but the sale of our home has been in question for a while now.
Each time I drive through the neighborhood, I see more homes going up for sale. I see more homes being built by our builder. About two months ago, construction began on the new addition going up right next to ours, and now there are twelve homes in various stages of completion in that area. A couple of weeks ago I noticed the start of a new addition about a half mile from us. And all along I am wanting to be free from my home, out on the road full-time in our motor home.
I drive out of my addition and think, God, I guess you just want to show your might and ability to do the impossible. God don't you see these "for sale" signs? I know you see the many houses being built –and while I know you are able to sell our home in this environment, even with the housing market instability....
Frankly, I did not understand why he was dragging his feet... HA! I now know why we have not sold our home! Let me try to explain.
As many around us know, we have been working for a couple of months to buy a motor home. Everyone knows about the housing market and the slump it is in. I have had much difficulty because in the various lenders’ minds, the two markets go together. Lending on RVs has become a tight business. You basically have to not need the money to buy one before you can borrow the money to buy one!
So in order for us to qualify to buy the motor home, I had to put up some acreage I own outside of town. No big deal, but here is the miracle—above my human understanding.
Texas is one of the two states with a Homestead Law (of this nature) still in existence. Which in short means, the state is unable to take your final 200 acres. This is probably a great thing for the protection of your land and assets, but it also eliminates the possibility to pledge it as collateral for a loan.
My bank would not make a loan for an RV right now, but they will loan on acreage. This is how we have structured our loan. However, it would have never been a possibility without owning our home in town. Our home we reside in is the portion of land the state recognizes as a homestead. Therefore without owning the house we live in, in town, the acreage in the country could not have been used to acquire the loan we needed for the motor home, and thus fulfill the will of God in our life!
All the while I have tried to trust Him without understanding the details and why. But I can say today, he knew all along. His ways are above our ways. His wisdom is without limits. His understanding is infinite! I am glad we can trust him. When our lives are evaluated, all we can say is, We are so small, while He is so GREAT—and the Victory is still His!
