A Lesson in Supernatural Provision

#Provision

For most of our time in ministry I ran a business doing and overseeing a variety of different projects in building and maintenance. Most of our travel over the first few years was paid for by the finance the business brought in; we were glad to be able to do it and it kept there from being such a heavy burden on the church. As I got older the demands of the job began to take a toll on my body, but I would push though and just do it.

In November of 2011 I was on a job with my son in north Missouri when it all changed. I was lying on my back on the floor welding a set of stairs when I heard the Lord speak that this was my last job. I didn’t argue but began to think of the implications. By mid January we needed just over $6000 to finish paying for our tickets for the first quarter, and I had planned enough jobs that it would have been no problem. But if this were to be the last job, the money would need to come from another source. I had a lengthy talk with God about it but had great peace that He was going to teach us a new lesion in supernatural provision. As soon as I got home I met with the company that had given me the work and told them it was the last job I could do for them.

The next flight I did was to India and because I had booked my ticket late, I had an unusual routing back to Springfield with stops in London, Boston and then Dallas getting me home late at night. When I got to London the flight to Boston was oversold and they were looking for volunteers to take another flight. I was first at the counter and the agent offered me a confirmed business class seat on the next flight, which went direct to Dallas and would get me home 2 hours earlier. Of course I said yes and sat down to wait till the flight left to get my new boarding pass. They had trouble getting the rest of the volunteers they needed and eventually offered $750 before they got the last two. When I went up to get my new itinerary, the agent gave me my new boarding pass with the upgrade and then handed me a voucher for $750 toward future travel. From there it got even better.

I had just enough money in the account to go to Brazil with Randy Clark in March 2012 and so I paid for the trip on my American Express card. The next month when the bill came I saw that the $350 deposit had been taken out of my account but that the main charge of over $3000 had not cleared. I didn’t think too much about it until we received the next month’s bill and the charge still wasn’t there. I called Global to make sure they had been paid and they had been, so I went on the trip.

When I got home the charge still didn’t show up on my bill. So I called Global again and got the date and time that they received their payment from American express and then called the credit card company. I was passed from person to person because no one had dealt with a call telling them that money was owed to them that they hadn’t collected. Finally they put me through to a nice lady and I explained my story once again. The conversation went something like this
Me: “Mam, I have over $3000 in my bank account and I owe you the money.”
Amex: “No sir, you don’t owe us anything.”
Me: “But on this date and time you paid Global for a trip I did with them but you have never charged me.”
Amex: “Sir, that is not possible.”
Me: “I know it is unusual, but that’s what happened, what should I do with the money?”
Amex: “Sir, the money is yours.”
Me: “No, it is yours!”
Amex: “I’m sorry Mr. Wilson but you simply don’t owe us any money.”
Me: “I’ll tell you what I’ll do; I will hold the money for another 30 days and if you don’t realize that I owe it, I’ll spend it on my next mission trip.”
Amex: “Sir, would you please just go ahead and spend the money; it’s yours.”

Finally it sinks in; American Express is paying for one of our trips! That’s how it began, over the next year we got checks in the mail from people we had not seen in years sending support for the travel. Three years later and we have not missed a trip because of finance and have always had enough to bless others.