Somebody just wrote me a letter to tell me how God had answered her prayer in a miraculous way.  You see, she and her parents used to live in a place where her mother worked. So, when her mother died from Covid a few months ago, she and her father had to move out. She, who is in her last year of college, then, tried to find a job to support her and her father, who has been unemployed for long.

After months of searching, she finally found a job—out of town—which means she’d have to move out and find a place of her own.  That also means, she’d have support herself and her dad for at least a month before she receives her first paycheck.  She told me she’s desperate not knowing what to do.  She needed the job badly, but she’d have to come up with the money to pay her rent first.  So, she prayed.  She told me that not long after she had prayed, somebody, who did not know about the situation she’s in, sent her money. 

God cares for us, and He knows our needs; and when we pray to Him, He hears us.  But God answers our prayer not by eliminating the need but by meeting our need.  Matthew 6:32 makes it clear that we will have need, “For Your Heavenly Father knows that you need them.” I, perhaps some of you, wish that God would supply all that we need before it ever becomes a need.  But that’s not how God works.  He wants us to live in reality; to share the struggles of life, just like everybody else.  Hence, He places us in a real world, with real danger and real need.  However, along with us, He places His Holy Spirit to help us face real danger and meet real need.

People say Christmas is a season of giving.  Perhaps more accurately Christmas reminds us that there is no season for giving.  God knows no season for giving; we, too, should know no season for giving.

Pastor Paul