Windows of Heaven

George Mueller (circa 1840) wanted to show God's glory by only praying about financial and material needs for the orphanage he ran.

I (circa 2009) was inspired by good ole George. So instead of prayer letters to raise support for the short-term missions trip to Beijing, I prayed that God would somehow provide. Lo and behold, in the process of buying the apartment in June, I met with an accountant who found an error on my taxes - in my favor. How cool is that?!?! But it's not the end of the story....

There's a verse in Malachi (3:10) that says "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it."

I should say here that I learned this verse early in my Christian life and have consistently given financially to my local church and when there is extra to local and overseas organizations. Since that time, I've never been in want and God is so creative to provide. Back to the story, though...

When I arrived back to NY and got the check in the mail from NY State, I was blown away! I shared the story about God's provision at our church's praise time, but got the numbers wrong. The refund was for $5026 -- I thought that was $26 more than what my need was. But when I double checked the numbers, I found that my exepenses were higher than I thought. The check was $317 short. Not quite what I thought, but a great praise all the same.

So when I checked the mail two days later and found something from the Federal government, I was surprised. I was more surprised that it was a refund check for Federal taxes! And even more surprised than that to see that it was for WELL over $317. More like over $12,000.

I'm blown away. He wasn't kidding about those windows.