$500,000 Miracle: This Man’s Unwavering Trust Unlocked God’s Provision, Here’s How You Can Too

“For I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return” (2 Timothy 1:12).

The altar is packed with college students as I finish my Chapel message.

Many of them are on their knees. One young man catches my eye as we pray over those who have come forward. He is the last to approach the altar, but as he begins to kneel, he abruptly backs away. He shakes his head as he walks to the back of the sanctuary.

But instead of walking out the back door, he turns around and walks slowly back to the altar. His whole body is shaking as he begins to kneel. But once again, he backs away. This time his face appears to be angry.

As we watch and pray, suddenly, he throws himself face-down on the altar and begins to weep. Half an hour later, we find out why. About a year ago, he was in a vehicle with his fiancée during a head-on collision. His life was spared, but his fiancée died in his arms.

Today is the first time since the accident that he has been to an altar. More importantly, this is the day his trust in Jesus is restored.

At this chapel service, I shared a story that made no sense to me for many years. It seemed like God was being unfair to Moses. First, the background:

Moses never volunteered to be God’s spokesperson or lead the people to the promised land. He told God, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words… I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled” (Exodus 4:10). God responded by telling him, “I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say” (Exodus 4:12).

Moses agrees to God’s plan, confronts Pharaoh, parts the Red Sea, and retires to play golf at Pebble Beach. (Not exactly.) After the Red Sea, he led the people out into the Desert of Zin. “There was no water for the people to drink at that place, so they rebelled against Moses and Aaron” (Numbers 20:2).

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there, and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock.’

“So Moses did as he was told. He took the staff from the place where it was kept before the Lord. Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. ‘Listen, you rebels!’ he shouted. ‘Must we bring you water from this rock?’ Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill.

“But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!’” (Number 20:7- 12, emphasis mine)

When we understand how God views trust, we understand this story. The community did not trust God, so they died in the wilderness. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses struck the rock. The price of his distrust was the promised land.

As I’ve mentioned previously, my childhood bedroom was adjacent to our family’s kitchen. Mom and Dad would talk about the unpaid bills and the financial pressure at night. As I listened, I became worried. Then I became afraid. Then I lost my trust. I was sure God was not going to take care of me. I could never have a marriage and family because I would never be able to provide for a family.

When I joined the team at PraiseLive in 1985, my salary was $12,000 a year. As Sherrie and I began our family, we started to have late-night conversations in our kitchen about finances. We were working two jobs; then we had three jobs. At times we had four jobs and were getting further and further behind. I was fighting exhaustion and fighting my fear that God is not able.

In 1998, I had the experience of reading With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray. I was stunned. I pulled out my prayer journal, and all I saw were pages filled with requests for provision. I was praying for months for funds to purchase tires for the car. But the life of prayer Andrew described was a life of praying for his Kingdom. Praying for “daily bread” was part of prayer, but the secret to prayer was asking God what was on his heart.

I began to pray intently about the Kingdom of God. One night I was awakened and frightened by the presence of God. My room felt like it was illuminated. I managed to make my way to my office and spent the next several hours on my face. What was on God’s heart was a global media platform for his presence. He invited me to change our format to worship, the Word, and prayer. He spoke to me about broadcasting across Africa. Then he invited me to ask him to confirm his word to me. “Ask me for a gift of $500,000, but tell no one.”

When you have an area where you don’t trust God, this is the area where he reveals himself as trustworthy. My secret fear is lack of provision, and God knows I cannot accomplish his purpose for my life if I do not trust him.

As I knelt to pray, there was a calm assurance that I was praying for something on God’s heart. It didn’t matter that we were a rural ministry with headquarters surrounded by a cornfield. I said “Yes” to the invitation and asked for the confirmation.

Several weeks later, I received a phone call from someone who used to live in Minnesota and now lives over a thousand miles away. He was coming through the Twin Cities and asked if we could have dinner. He looked at me and said, “I was sitting on my deck, and the Lord told me that you had accepted an invitation from him. He told me I was to confirm the invitation.” With that, he slid a check across the table.

That night Sherrie and I got down on our knees. There was no celebration as we looked at a check for $400,000. But there was prayer because of the weight of the responsibility God was calling us to. The only puzzling part was the difference in the amount of the gift. The Holy Spirit had been so specific about the vision and the confirmation. The next day I received a call. “I missed God on the amount. I’m sending you another check.”

When the FedEx envelope arrived, I opened it fully expecting a check for $100,000. This check was for $300,000. Then the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. “What I am asking you to build is dear to my heart.”

I didn’t know we would wait twenty years for this vision to unfold. But in the waiting, I would remember the encounter with Jesus and the gifts that confirmed the vision. Today PraiseLive is available across almost all of Africa and the Middle East via satellite. We invite people to experience Jesus on FM signals across Africa.

Jesus is always worth the wait.

This is what I know about your life. If you ask Jesus what is on his heart, he will reveal something dear to his heart. He will also reveal something hidden in your heart. As you wait for the vision, Jesus is waiting for you.

Whenever I share about Moses and the promised land, I bring along a large iron wedge I have used when cutting wood. I explain that Satan’s goal is to drive a wedge between our heart and God’s heart. But for the wedge to have any power, the wedge needs an entry point.

The entry point is the first time you believe that your Father is not trustworthy. Satan knows if you believe God is not trustworthy, you will not believe what he says to you. This lie is the entry point for a thief whose goal is your destruction. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” (John 10:10).

We might think our life is about accomplishing something for God. But God’s priority is always our heart. “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness. There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years. So I was angry with them, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ So in my anger I took an oath, ‘They will never enter my place of rest’” (Hebrews 3:7-11, italics mine).

It costs something to trust God. You stand in the desert, so thirsty that you want to go back to Egypt. But it costs far more not to trust him.

Your destiny is a land of promise you receive from your Father if you dare to trust him.

Reflect:

When was the first time I believed my Heavenly Father was not trustworthy?

Equip:

How do I look for the one who needs to trust?

Focus on the First Place: I spoke on this topic on a Sunday morning and invited people to come forward for healing. As we began to pray, the lines grew longer and longer. People waited 90 minutes to pray about the first time they believed their Father was not trustworthy. We prayed about divorce, abuse, eating disorders, and cancer. One young lady shared that she had come to church intent on taking her life when she returned home. Instead of taking her life, she gave her life at the altar.

Look to Him: We gently guide the gaze of one who cannot trust until they see the face of Jesus. “Want of trust is at the root of almost all our sins and all our weaknesses; and how shall we escape it but by looking to Him and observing His faithfulness? How many estimate difficulties in the light of their own resources, and thus attempt little and often fail in the little they attempt! All God’s giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them” (Hudson Taylor).

Follow the Trail: A trail of poor decisions begins with the first decision to not trust God. As you follow the trail, you are searching for a broken heart that Jesus longs to heal. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Build Together: Once Jesus begins to heal a heart, it’s time to begin building on the foundation of Christ. “As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced” (1 Peter 2:6).

Let’s Pray:

Jesus, I ask that you would open my eyes to the first place I lost sight of you. I pray that you would heal my heart and gently guide me to my land of promise. Even as you have declared, “Let there be light,” please declare, “Let there be life!”

Discuss:

Moses was forbidden from entering the promised land, so why was he invited to stand with Jesus in the promised land?

“About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus” (Luke 9:28-30).

When it comes to trust, what is at stake?

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. … But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit’” (Jeremiah 17:5-8).

How do we talk to Jesus about our distrust?

“O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge” (Psalm 62:8).

What is dear to God’s heart?

“For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart” (2 Chronicles 7:16).

As l look for the one who needs to trust, how do I become more like Jesus?