Much as kids and grownups have nicknames, God has other names known as compound names. These names reveal or enhance His character and attributes. They tell us more about how He is as well as what He does. From time to time, I’ll be sharing on God’s Names. I wrote the following piece on November 7, 2005; twenty years ago, for our church.
FAITHFUL PROVIDER
Thanksgiving and testimonies go hand-in-hand. Though our kids are now grown, looking back to 1984 to our native residence of Brooklyn, New York, they were small then. All three were below the age of four. We were living on $2.00 for every two weeks from 1981-84. I had no choice but to ride my bike16 miles to work each day regardless of the weather. We finally moved to a brand new 12-family housing unit. We were on the first floor. Within months, I was without work and my parents had just moved to Puerto Rico.
Our church folk weren’t too generous; only two families helped us with $20.00 each throughout our 6-month ordeal; and neither were my five older brothers; with only the elder giving us $20 at the time. They were “harder” than the hard times we experienced. From each offering, we paid our tithes and proceeded to buy much-needed items such as $2.00 sneakers for each kid and a $3.00 pair for Viv. I remember our power bill being $17, and after our $2 tithes, we paid it. Survived on a buck.
Housing sent us to Welfare & Food Stamps (which we really felt bad about). But soon we received an eviction notice (that’s another story), because the aid didn’t come through on time. Thankfully, God came through at the last minute.
Our experience helped us decide not to be as “hard” as those around us were. Monthly, we began sending $2.00 to several ministries, then increased our giving little by little to $10, $35, $50, etc. For the last decade, we’ve been able to support 18 ministries besides our church on a yearly basis. We’ve also helped in building 2 churches in India, 1 in Mexico, and 1 in Ghana. We also began tithing from Food Stamps by giving 1 item for any 10 we bought, & thus started a food ministry at the church.
Another outcome was getting closer to God through prayer. I built a kneeling prayer altar/stand where I’d pray with each of our kids before bedtime. That led to our family services where our son, Gammy, & daughter, Milcah, sang & preached. Baby Sarai, collected the offering. We still hold our services with the girls. Each day, one of us leads the service and one day a week, I hold a Bible study. (Sidenote; this was 20 years ago).
A few years later, after things got better, the church decided to take away the church van from us (my wife Viv used to pick folks up before church & return them after the service). For a while, a family would drive us to church but then decided not to. They’d pass us by as we walked 26 blocks in all types of weather with 3 little ones, of which one was in a carriage.
As years passed, we had been looking forward to 1991as we were going to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. The kids were going to with walk down the aisle with us and be the ringbearers. We even bought the girls lovely white dresses and Viv bought a violet one with lace and all, but then we had to use the money towards purchasing a station wagon. There was no wedding anniversary celebration; only very disappointed kids with new clothes. Throughout all this and much more, God has always been faithful.
None of us will ever reach a “Safe Place” where we can say, “We’ve made it.” God will always stir the waters. Our attitude towards trials will determine the outcome that God expects or doesn’t expect from us. He wants to bend us; not backwards, but forward. Forward to: 1. Servanthood, 2. Stewardship, 3. Dependence on Him. In our trials, we’re still walking in victory. We need to press on.
God wants us to take our focus off our needs and focus on the needs of others. He’ll stir others to meet ours. Let’s have a THANKSGIVING attitude; contribute to others. As imitators of God, we need to be givers, not takers. Give to missions and give to those in need around you.
He’s “Pistos” Faithful, Reliable, always coming through. He’s also Jehovah Jireh-the Provider.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Sam
SIDENOTE: We finally celebrated our 25th anniversary, at ALF (Abundant Life Fellowship) in Puerto Rico on 6/6/6 with all three kids present; the girls as bridesmaids, and our son walked Viv down the aisle!
