The Car, the Water Heater and the House

[Maryanne Winder Lester]

We had an old car and it was paid for. When we gave it up and let it go, God blessed us with another car which was even better for our needs. When we received the blessing of the car, God showed himself again. Our water heater went out and we could not afford a new one. My husband tried every way he knew to fix it, but that was not meant to be. We continued praising God, even during this tribulation. So, we let it go and accepted that we would have to continue taking cold showers and washing dishes by boiling water as we had been doing for almost a month. We trusted that the Lord would provide us with what we needed. Then the Holy Spirit led me to call Atlanta Gas Light and I spoke with a gentleman who had just heard, that very day, about a program which helped Seniors. However, it was explained that the waiting list was very long. To our surprise, and to the Glory of God, we were called the very next day and the gentleman asked if they could come out the next day and install a new water heater for us. Halleluiah! God gave us another blessing with a free water heater.

Now it’s the house. Our Bishop has instructed us to read Isaiah 43:18-20, every day twice per day. “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it will spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen.” Last year, He saved our home from foreclosure. And we are in the same situation again. But, now God is doing a new thing. His question to us is, “Shall you not know it?” God never looks back to do the same thing all over again. Bishop says that people often have car accidents trying to go forward because they are looking in the rear-view mirror. That’s why the front window is so much larger than the rear-view mirror! So, now I have to stop relying on God’s previous way of handling this situation. I can’t look at the old way. I know that the solution is already there, I just have to see it through God’s eyes. I have to see His “New thing.” So, I am proclaiming in authority, here and now: I HAVE LET GO OF THE OLD HOUSE! Again, I HAVE LET GO OF THE OLD HOUSE! And I need to take the limits of the past off! This transition is nothing for me to be sad about. Because I know He is transitioning me into something bigger. It’s ok for me to rejoice and get excited about the house God has let me see through His eyes. It is His new thing for our family.

Just as soon as I had made this proclamation and came into agreement with the Holy Spirit I received a phone call from a home owner who is willing to work with us for a small down-payment. Praise God! We are meeting with him tomorrow. God works fast, rapidly and in a hurry for those who love Him and for those who step out in faith and obey Him! I know I have more and more praise to give to our Merciful God! I have faith and like Ezekiel, in his conversation with God, 37: 3-4, “And He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ So I answered, ‘O Lord God, You know.’ Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’” We believe that God and God alone will write the ending to this story! Praise His holy, holy, holy name!

Today I am asking all of the Prayer Warriors to incorporate this prayer in your prayers:

Heavenly Father,

As we move into this new season that you have given us, to journey into the destination of Your glory, we truly believe Lord, that we are being shaken up, moved, rerooted and positioned in Your divine purpose as You did with Judah. Re-plant me and re-water me that I may bear fruit in Your righteousness. We thank You for sharing Your thoughts of our misguided thoughts, that You honor us enough to pour out Your presence in our lives. That we may, through this storm, be a sacrificial pouring on whomever comes into our presence, so they may see what a mighty God we serve. We trust You because we trust Christ. Lord, we believe that Christ is Your Son. Lord, we know He was sacrificed for us. So in this prayer Lord, we stand before You, transparent, a sacrifice; as we follow in the steps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Because Lord, He said it, we believe it, God settled it.

Amen.

Melvin and Maryanne Lester

4/19/2010