1.21.2010

Jehovah Jireh: The God Who Provides

This past fall, I went with several hundred other high school students from my town to take the PSAT test. It is a practice test which you can take the year before you take the SAT, so that you know what to expect, and know in what areas you need to study harder. I was extremely, terribly, horribly nervous. I'm very shy around people I don't know, and even more so around other, "worldly" teenagers.
Being homeschooled, I am not used to being around teenagers who act so differently from me, and I struggle with a great deal of nervousness when I'm around them. In order to take the test, I had to go to a building with all of these strangers, and stay there for four hours. The night before the test, I was so extremely nervous that I broke down. I almost said that I could not go, that if I did I would probably pass out, or something else, from terror. I wasn't trusting God, and although I prayed, as usual, I wasn't really expecting Him to do anything spectacular. I didn't even really think that He would give me peace in my heart, and courage to do something that I was afraid of.
That morning, my dad drove me to the building where we were to take the test, and took me inside to sign in and find where I was supposed to sit, etc. All of the other kids had come on their buses, or in cars with friends, so I was apparently the only one who had my father with me. Add to that the fact that I was wearing a denim skirt, didn't have my hair cut in a modern style, and that I had no friends here, and I was very much the odd-ball in the room. Not that anyone even noticed me. I literally felt faint, and just wanted to get away. I shrunk next to my dad as we stood in line, in the huge crowd. Then, a man who had been standing against the wall with a younger boy came up and introduced himself to my father. "I assume you're a homeschooler?" he asked, after shaking hands.
"Yes," my dad replied.
"So are we," the man said. "This is my son, here." He called a young man over, and introduced him to us. He was a year older than me, and was wearing the same type of "old-fashioned" clothes. "It looks like you two are the only homeschoolers here."
I nodded. Dad and the man talked for a little while, and then they suggested something.
"Why don't you two stick together today, okay?" my dad said, turning to me. I nodded mutely, and we walked off to the 'classroom', after I said goodbye to my father. The young man kindly tried to converse with me, even though I was extremely quiet, and by the time the test started, I was feeling much more comfortable.
Throughout the day, we had several five-minute breaks. During that time, my new friend thoughtfully continued to pull me out of my shell, and by the end of the first break we had discovered several subjects which we both loved and heartily agreed on. After that, I was quite happy and not nearly so nervous any more. The test finally ended, and we both left with our parents.
Later, thinking about it, I almost wondered if the young man had been an angel, sent by God to deliver me in my time of trouble. But he was not. I saw him at the library a few weeks later, evidence that he was, indeed, a resident of a small town outside of ours. But God doesn't always send angels. He works in such amazing ways that He can bring human beings into His children's lives at just the time that they need it. And He does. El Elyon, the Most High God, gives us everything we need, even when we neglect to trust Him to provide it. He is indeed Jehovah Jireh (yeh-ho-vaw' yir-eh'), the God Who Provides. He provided for my needs in a way that I never would have expected, and in a spectacular way that could only be His hand working. I didn't really trust Him to do it, but He did it anyway. He loves us that much. He is Jehovah Jireh. Do not forget that, dear sisters. He will provide.

2 comments:

Christine said...

Cool story Rebekah! It is so amazing how the Lord provides for us! He's SO awesome!

Alena said...

I also enjoyed your story Rebekah! You have the most wonderful talent of making a story, not only engaging, but also extrameley interesting!! Even for little things out dearest Lord cares about
us!