Our
businesses are important to us, as they provide the things we need for our
daily lives. Things can also happen there that need prayer for God to be our
Provider, as Toni Weaver testifies in this story. |
At |
Middle of
the night phone calls unsettle me. I began to pray. I could imagine burglary
and vandalism and wondered what Dewayne might encounter when he arrived at
our business. Fifteen minutes later he called. "You need to come right
away," he said. "The building is on fire." |
I rushed
to get dressed. As I drove to the office, I prayed all the way. Mainly, I
asked God to let angels protect the records in my file cabinets. All our
corporate records were in them. Not only did I have our customers' records,
but I had a payroll of fifty men. If those files were destroyed, it would
takes days, or even months, to redo them. |
When I
arrived, our modular office was engulfed in flames. Fire trucks and
firefighters were everywhere. They had broken out the doors and windows.
Smoke enclosed the area. What I could see of the inside of the office was
black and wet. |
The
firefighters began hauling charred furniture outside. Finally, they dragged
my file cabinets outside. They were black and scorched, but the files inside
were saved! I wanted to shout Hallelujah so loud everyone around could hear. Instead,
I silently thanked God for this miracle answer to prayer. My files were the
only thing salvageable from the fire. |
Because my
computer had been destroyed, I did lose data and had to rebuild the employee
files. But I had a starting place because of the files that were saved. |
The night
of the fire, the Lord impressed on me that he would turn this tragedy into a
praise report. I did not know how, but I was convinced he would do so. I
trusted his provision. |
We
discovered after the fire that our office building was underinsured by
$24,000, as we carried only coverage for the "hard cost" of the
office. What a blow! Nevertheless, we invested some extra money, and by
January we started the construction of a new concrete office. On April 1 it
was completed--beautiful, permanent, and larger and better than the previous
one. |
When we
received our property tax bill, the new building had been appraised for
$29,000 more than it had actually cost us to build. This was God's way of
redeeming our loss. We had been able to rebuild for much less than the market
rate, thus increasing our value. Someday, when we sell the building, we will
realize the gain. |
I looked
up the word "restoration" in the dictionary and found that it means
"to restore to an improved position." This is precisely what God
did. He is a God of restoration, of rebuilding. He gave us an even better
building; he turned a tragedy into a victory. |
Sometimes
when we do lose material things, it is difficult to see beyond the loss. But
Toni and Dewayne today have a thriving business in a much better office
building. The most important lesson to learn, however, is that we must trust
in God to provide for our needs and must place ourselves in his wise and
loving care. |
|
From:
Miracles Happen When You Pray by Quin Sherrer, 1997, pag. 53-55, Zondervan
Publishing House, |