“Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” 1 Kings 19:11-12 NKJV
January has slapped me with all kinds of bills, and December 2024 was no better. I anticipated the sort of expenses that would come my way, so I started praying about it in early December. That may sound silly, but I’ve come to learn that God cares about all things, and that the only way to plan for unexpected costs is to save and to pray, because He knows all. I asked Him to provide the means to pay for all that was looming before me. I’m not new to this, so the answers to this specific prayer have differed. Sometimes, someone gifts me something – either what I need to pay for or money to pay for it. For the first time, the answer came in a different way: the Lord gifted me overtime at work.
For context, my job doesn’t randomly have overtime projects. There are occasional instances and several people, and only so much overtime you can work, which is typically a good thing. In this case, the overtime could be classified as ridiculous. I had never gotten the opportunity to work those sort of hours before, but the amount that I got paid as a result of those hours covered every single expense that eventually came my way, alongside a gift or two. God met my need in a way I didn’t expect. He gave me the opportunity to work for what I had requested.
I grew up in a charismatic church, so I have witnessed my fair share of miracles. I, therefore, equate the hand of God to the heavens opening up and dropping the answer in my lap. This experience was a reminder to me that God can be in the “still small voice”, and that sometimes your breakthrough requires a physical move from you. For me, it was reassuring. A lot of days, the search for a grand encounter comes up empty, and for someone who would like to see, it is difficult to hinge my faith on just His word, or to believe that something simple will lead me to my answer. I’ll be honest, I was close to saying no. I had other things to do, and from my experience, the need would surely be met, by any miraculous means possible. I almost missed His provision because of that. I almost missed the hand He offered.
I am praying in Jesus’ name for you that you can see God wherever He shows up. He is always present, and His Spirit is always accessible. David said “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” (Psalms 139:7-8 NKJV). May you be sensitive enough to hear Him in the still and the small, and may it be enough to uphold you when all you can see is what is in front of you. Most of all, I pray that you are able to embrace His hand wherever it appears.
