Whirlwind: n. a column of air moving rapidly around in a cylindrical or funnel shape. n. used in similes and metaphors to describe a very energetic or tumultuous process.
We just went through a really quick, whirlwind trial that tested our faith pretty severely! It involved a literally impossible situation, and we could not see how God was going to fix it. But He did. In the coolest way, as usual.
We've been renting our home for the past 9 months and our lease ends July 1. We had intentions of buying this house from our landlord because property is very limited here in Altus, Oklahoma, AND we didn't want to be spending our whole summer packing and moving when we could be spending quality time having fun with Evan who is home from college for a few months. But upon making an offer on the house, we were unable to secure a loan quickly due to some credit issues we needed to resolve, so our landlord told us she couldn't wait around for us and was going to have to sell; therefore we were going to have to move out July 1. Mind you, the housing market here, especially for rentals, is virtually extinct. Cue the panic mode music montage.
During this 2 week trial, God gave me this word to meditate on: Unwavering. He led me to Job and his trust in God. Then to Abraham and his trust in God. He put the song "Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery" in my head constantly with the lyric, "What a foretaste of deliverance, how unwavering our hope..." on a constant loop. Okay, God...I see you, but I'm not sure how you are going to solve this impossible trial. There are no homes for us here in Altus.
Romans 4:20 says, "Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God", but I believe there was some wavering. God had promised the elderly Abraham he would be impossibly blessed with a child with his elderly wife, Sarah. Abraham wavered in that belief as he got even older and decided to unfaithfully have a child with Hagar since he was unsure of how God was going to give him a child with Sarah. Having not yet had the promised child with Sarah, when traveling he told his wife to pretend to be his sister so that his life would be spared by the king who thought his wife was a beautiful woman to take as his own. Maybe it wasn't "wavering" per se, but he was definitely confused as to how God was going to come through on this promise which seemed impossible. Faithfully, God came through for him with a son, and Abraham's faith was strengthened. So much so, that he is viewed as a hero of the faith and his faith brought glory to God.
So, back to Altus, Oklahoma, and our whirlwind trial. :)
Since finding a place to rent was getting us nowhere, we decided to branch out and check every other option! We contacted numerous real estate agents listing several houses we would be interested in buying to see if their client would offer us a "rent-to-own" option. Just a few months, then we could purchase the home. All said no. We knew a guy trying to sell his house unsuccessfully for the past year and just asked if we could rent it while he had it on the market. His answer, "Sorry, I have a guy flying in from California this weekend to purchase it." We looked in Lawton, Oklahoma, at homes to rent an hour from where Michael works. It would be do-able, but a lot of driving for him every day. God was closing every single door we were knocking on.
Michael likes to make jokes and said, "Wouldn't it be funny if whoever is buying our house would just let us rent it from them?" I told him that was impossible because there is another house in our neighborhood with that scenario and no one has bought it. *insert eye roll here* Silly Michael, who put that thought into your head?
Not 2 hours from his silly comment did we get a phone call...from a man named Evan (great name since that's our son's name). Evan said he had just flown in from California and had bought our house from our landlord as a rental property. (Yes, this is the same guy from California I just mentioned above who bought that other house we were trying to live in) He told us he would love for us to stay in the house as his tenants as long as we needed or until we found something else we wanted to move forward on buying. He offered us to be able to stay as long or for as few months as we needed. I don't know if any of you have ever rented a home, but landlords aren't like that. There is usually always a year long lease involved.
Michael got off the phone and we were literally silent for the rest of the night. We could not believe what just happened. We could not believe that God answered our prayer with all the details included to fit the desires of our heart. God came to us in this whirlwind of doubt & chaos and made everything ordered for His glory. We knew God would fix our problem; He always does...He's always been faithful. We just could not see HOW because we had tried everything in our power with no success. But in God's great goodness and kindness to us, He is allowing us to stay in this house for as long as we need, He is allowing us a fun filled summer with our son without having to throw a stressful move into the mix. He is allowing us time to fix a problem with our credit and become better stewards of what He has given us.
God has allowed us an opportunity to grow our faith even when we didn't understand. He has done the impossible. Only He can take credit for it. He has spoken to us out of the whirlwind, the same as He did thousands of years ago to Job. He was faithful before, He'll be faithful again and again and again.
Romans 8:28 tells us that God works all things for good. My landlord needed to sell her house for money she needed for her new farm. Evan had just sold his home in California for $900,000 affording him the opportunity to move to Altus and buy a home for his family as well as a rental property for income. The Corsar's were allowed to stay in that rental property until a time that will be appointed by God for us to move. And I'm sure so many other pieces were moved around to get us to this exact spot so I could testify of the goodness of God.
Come behold the wondrous mystery....
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