My sister Nancy and I recently took a trip to South Carolina to visit our brother and his family. We had a good trip—it was especially good for me because Nancy did all the driving. Our visit with relatives was fabulous—the two girls we had last seen as small children are beautiful and smart young ladies, and we loved spending time with them and our brother.
Along the way, however, we did have occasion to call on Jehovah-Jireh (God Who Provides) twice on our trip to Matt’s. My van broke down the first afternoon, but we found a dealership four miles from where we were stranded. Fortunately we were in the parking lot of a convenience store—Nancy pulled off the freeway as soon as we heard a funny noise and just made it to a parking place. The dealership towed our car and worked on it first thing the next day—it was about 5 PM when the tow truck got the van there. There was a hotel right next door to the dealership, and the dealership, cab driver, and hotel staff all were very helpful. We got the car fixed and were on the road again by noon.
As a consequence of the delay, though, we were arriving at Matt’s about midnight. We had passed gas stations everywhere for the whole trip, so we didn’t expect to have any problems. However, we didn’t realize we had to leave the freeway and go on a state highway through a few scattered small towns. Every single station we passed was closed. We watched the “miles to empty” on the car drop below the “miles to destination” on the GPS. We prayed, “Jehovah-Jireh, please get us to Matt’s house. Get us to a station that is open or get us to Matt’s on the gas we have, however You want. Please just get us there.” The “miles to empty” gauge turned to 0 just as we approached the only gas station open. Even though the gauge said there was no gas left, we got to the station and to a pump. Praise God!
In the Lord’s prayer, we pray “Give us our daily bread today” (Matthew 6:11, GW). We like to have our daily bread stored up into the future, but Jesus told us
19 “Stop storing up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. 20 Instead, store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust don’t destroy and thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 Your heart will be where your treasure is. (Matthew 6:19-21, God’s Word)
Nancy and I would have liked to find that gas station twenty or thirty miles earlier, but God provided us what we needed at the exact time we needed it.
Jehovah-Jireh, God of Gods, and Lord of Lords, thank You that you answer our prayers and meet our needs at the right time, Your time, when we rely on You. When we put our faith and trust in Your goodness and Your provision, You shower blessings on us. You provide gas when the gas tank is empty, and You provide strength, comfort, mercy, and grace when our spiritual tanks are empty. You always meet our needs and answer our prayers on Your perfect timetable. Help me to rely completely on You. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Ghost, now and forever, world without end. Amen.