Chapter 6 My God Shall Provide All Your Needs

We can truly declare that over the course of our ministry and our Christian lives the Lord has provided above and beyond what we could ever ask or think. The channel for His provision has come through many ways. I have been a full time pastor on staff at churches with a salary. Other times we have had to depend on the generous and kind donations of others to sustain us. I have worked part time and full time jobs while serving in ministry. We started businesses. Debra worked full time in real estate for seven years while I did volunteer work in the inner city. And last but not least we have seen Jesus miraculously provide through the years. Many times it has been a combination of all these. It is not important how He provides. What is important is that you are obedient to do what He calls you to do in each season. Obedience brings blessing and provision.

When the Lord was first dealing with me to enter into full time ministry I was a successful realtor. I started working in real estate part time but through diligence and favor I became the top realtor in my company. This was a “Better Homes and Gardens” company that covered all the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. I worked hard it but I also had great favor during that time. Two of the top realtors in the company took it upon themselves to mentor and help me. I learned so much from them and they also threw deals my way. I am so thankful for these two people that I have always tried to “pay it forward.” Whatever position I have been employed, I always try to help the “new guy”.

I enjoyed progressing as a successful realtor and then the call came to enter into full time ministry. As I have written previously, I knew I was called and I was telling others that I was called but I had not really answered the call. Finances, or should I say lack of finances, always seem to get our attention and open our spiritual ears. I left the real estate company I was with and joined a new progressive company. It was a company that offered different levels of commission based on the amount of service we gave them. I thought it was a great concept so I switched. I did well at first but then the faucet turned off. I couldn’t sell a house to anyone! I lost God’s favor in this area. It was so frustrating and I needed to provide for my family so I ended up quitting the real estate business. I was working for an hourly wage with a brother from the church hauling trash. I didn’t get paid enough to pay our bills but but it was more than I was making as a realtor.

It was during this time that I answered the call of God and the accident happened with Debra and Abigail. When I told the Lord that I would go to Bible School I informed Him that I had a family to take care of and bills to pay. Like He did not already know that! Where God guides, He provides.

We needed to sell our house to go to Bible School. We called a Real Estate Broker who was a close friend and great Christian, Greg Garrett. He came to the house to sign the paperwork to list the house. Knowing that I was once a top real estate agent he asked, “What in the world are you doing hauling trash? Come work for me until your house sells?” Gregg never hired part timers. He was always looking for people who wanted to build careers in real estate. I informed him of this when he said he would make the exception for me. He told me to come work for him until I sold the house and could go to Bible School. Gregg has been an encouragement for many people and his encouragement convinced me that I could give it a try.

I joined Gregg’s company and after a few months became the number one sales agent! Gregg always put the names of the top listing and sales agents of the month on a big sign in front of the office. God’s favor through Gregg had put my name there. Most realtors were working on getting listings. I had used some training from my last company to work buyers. I was calling “used contacts”. I got the names of people who had called into the office but for whatever reason never bought a home from one of our agents. I was doing so well that the thought came to me that perhaps I would not go to Bible School but continue with a career in real estate. The Lord quickly rebuked me and reminded me of why I was being blessed once again. Our home finally sold and I resigned to move to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to attend full time Bible School. When I quit I had many sales pending. I partnered with another agent to attend to the sales and close them. We worked an agreeable split for the commission. As in many real estate deals not all closed on time, but they did close. We had income from these sales that sustained us for the next year while I attended Bible School! We even had medical/hospital bills cancelled!

We must be diligent and work for the provision God has for us but at the same time He can miraculously provide. Near the end of my first year of Bible School is when Pastor Mark Geppert offered us the internship that would follow my graduation. The school policy was that a student took one course through the summer months or they would take a mission trip during that time. I chose to go on a trip to Singapore and Indonesia with Pastor Mark. Our mission would be to Indonesia but we would spend time in Singapore. I agreed and started on the journey of faith to find the provision for the trip. It would cost each person approximately one thousand five hundred dollars.

Just when I developed the faith to believe God for the provision for me to go, the conviction came that Debra, my daughter Elizabeth and youngest daughter Abigail were all to go. I knew they were suppose to go as we would be living there as a family but I had just got enough faith for me! Oh well, the support letters went out and we began praying for the money to come in. I received an encouraging word that the “widow’s mite would sustain us”.

The first year of Bible School was complete and summer break had begun. The mission trip was fast approaching. Through the generous donations of others we had three thousand dollars. The trip was about ten days away and we were going to take a trip to Hampton, Virginia to visit family and our old church. Before we did I took a day to go fishing on the Ohio River with Pastor Mark Geppert and his two sons. At our current church I was involved in a ministry that ministered to children from divorced and broken homes. There was a twelve year old boy who did not have a dad and had never been fishing. I asked his mom if he could come fishing with me and she gladly permitted him to go.

The fishing that day was great! We were catching bass, walleye, pike and other species. The young boy that I brought was not interested in catching fish. He was enjoying climbing on the rocks and trees. I finally convinced him to come and fish. His first cast he got a bite and hooked a large sheep head fish. I helped him land the fish but he was afraid to touch it. I grabbed the fish out of the water and worked to get the hook out so we could release the fish. I was twisting and maneuvering the hook to loosen it when the shiniest copper penny fell out of the fishes mount into my hand! Amazed, I showed Pastor Mark and the other boys.

Pastor Mark remarked, “Tim, take that as a prophetic sign that God is going to provide for you and your family to go on the mission trip.” The story of Peter finding the coin in the mouth of a fish quickly came to all of our minds.

Since the boy had caught the fish I felt it only right to give him the penny from the fish’s mouth. When I did, he quickly took it and skipped it across the top of the water! He threw the penny back in! I could not believe it! In my mind I wanted to throw the kid in but knowing that he had already had a tough life, I controlled myself. I now realized that this was probably ordained by God as I would have enshrined that shiny copper penny. It would have made it to my mantle piece and become a golden calf idol.

The next day we left to drive to Virginia. A lady friend of Debra approached her to say that she wanted to give us some money for our mission trip. She had a dream that God told her to help us. She did not have the money with her but would meet Debra at a lady’s meeting the next day. Her name was Paula. Paula had three young boys and she was recently widowed. Her husband was hit by a car while crossing the road to go to work.

Debra went to the meeting but Paula did not show up. In the meantime Pastor Mark called us to inform us that he needed the balance of two thousand five hundred dollars to pay for the air tickets for our mission trip. Debra called Paula to see if they could meet. Paula gladly invited us over to the house so she could give us a check she had made out for our trip. We arrived at Paula’s house and she invited us to sit down at the table for some drinks. We chit chatted about our lives and as we did I peered down and saw the check made out for five hundred dollars. I tried not to show my excitement. Surely God would provide the remainder of one thousand dollars once we turned this check in.

After catching up with our lives Paula asked us how much more we needed for the trip. We tried to avoid telling her but eventually my wife informed her that we needed a total of one thousand five hundred. Paula grabbed a pen and wrote a “one” in front of the five hundred! As she handed it to us tears filled our eyes. Paula was a widow and this was a “Mighty Mite!”
We continue to experience the provision of God in many ways. I love to quote the scripture “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 NIV He has always met our needs and more. It has come sometimes through hard work. Other times through opportunities. We have been humbled by the generosity of others in our lives. And last but not least we have seen the miraculous provision of our Lord.