Devotion by Josh Houser
It was my junior year of high school. My friend, Rex, invited me to a church camp. There I learned the Lord loved me so much, He died on a cross for me. I was so excited that God wanted to have a relationship with me and I put my faith and trust in Him.
After camp, I was eager to live for the Lord. I started going to church, Bible studies, and more camps. I spent time with my youth pastor, Dusty, and he would share about how to walk with God. I started having daily time with the Lord to worship, pray, and read my Bible. It was a really good time of growth.
One day, Dusty talked about attending a Discipleship Training School through Youth With A Mission (YWAM). I loved the idea of growing more in my faith and telling others about Jesus, but I did not have the money even to go from Idaho to Texas, let alone pay for the school. Dusty told me to trust in the Lord, that He would provide. He prayed and sent me on my way.
As I left his office, I could feel the Lord calling me to go to YWAM. Over the next few months, I worked and saved money. Other Christian brothers and sisters gave to help with this call to GO (Matthew 28:19).
It was one week before I was supposed to go, but the BIG problem was that I still needed $1,000. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) says, “Do not be anxious, about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I fought discouragement and was praying faithfully, even begging God to miraculously provide. There was no way to make this happen by myself; I needed a miracle from God. I believed I was to trust God and walk in peace, bringing my cares to him.
Three days before it was time to go, I was still $1,000 short. I sat in my beat-up brown Toyota truck and prayed. That night, some friends, Ron and Suzie, invited me over for dinner. This was a young couple with young kids who loved the Lord. Over dinner, I told them about YWAM, but never shared that I could not afford to go.
After dinner, Ron asked if he could pray before I left for the evening. In the middle of prayer, he stopped unexpectedly. Unsure about what was going on, I opened my eyes. Ron opened his desk drawer, pulled out a checkbook, wrote out a check, and handed it to me. Trying to be polite, I immediately folded the check without looking at it, but Ron said, “Hey, you can look at it.” It was for $1,000. I was blown away!
When I got in my truck that night, all I could do was worship our awesome God and thank Him for His miraculous provision. That moment changed my life forever. It was at YWAM that I grew significantly in the Lord, met my future wife, and met a lifelong friend, Matthew. I was launched into a life of living on mission with God. This story reminds me to this day to bring my worries, needs, and cares to the Lord in prayer. He will bring peace to my life and meet my needs in ways I could not begin to imagine.
It was a big step of faith for Josh to commit to going to YWAM when he was still in need of money. Is there a step of faith you feel God might be calling you to take?
If anyone mentioned an area where they feel God is calling them to take a step of faith, have someone in the family pray for them. If not, close by giving thanks for prayer and for God listening to us.
