Walk by Faith

Monday I had worked all day in my old home town without even so much as a canvass. Wednesday I was back in the same town, this time with John, my leader, working some of the same doors for a second time. We did have a few new leads, and one in particular was quite puzzling. The street wasn’t found in the GPS, and not even the pizza delivery boys had heard of it. We were finally pointed in a general direction of the college, but couldn’t seem to locate the street. Finally, as a last resort, John called the number on the card, and a pleasant, professional gentleman answered the phone. As I listened to what I could of the phone conversation, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. I knew now where Tommy lived—and why his street wasn’t on the map, and he had never ordered pizza, or anything else for that matter. Dear Tommy lived in a mental institution, and couldn’t read or write. Needless to say, we moved on to our next lead.

At the end of the day, God led us to a home of a newlywed couple. Immediately John recognized the couple as people he had talked to and even prayed with at the state fair. After seeing our books, they eagerly bought everything we showed them, and couldn’t wait to start reading their new library!

As any seasoned LE will tell you, this line of work is a faith-building venture. Some days, it seems that the devil has specially calculated events to tempt us, if possible, to give up faith, even after seeing magnificent manifestations of God’s power. Thursday morning, Kristina had to leave on a trip, and wouldn’t be back until Sunday. After she left, I checked the mail, and found an envelope from our bank. I tore it open, dreading what would be inside. Sure enough, our bank account was overdrawn! I wasn’t completely out of money, but because of being gone I had forgotten to transfer a deposit I had made from my business account to our personal account. Even yet, though, it was enough to start feeling discouraged.

No sooner had I come back in the house than the phone rang. It was John, my leader. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” he said. “But both contracts you sent in last week didn’t go through.” One of those was the miraculous double order from my previous story, and losing that would be a huge blow!

What should I do? Should I reschedule my day, so that I could go back to the home and take care of the problem with the order? At that moment a verse came to mind: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” It was as if the forces of darkness were conspired together to keep me from gaining the blessing God had planned for me that day. By God’s grace, I wouldn’t let it happen.

I didn’t change my plans for the day, and God blessed wonderfully. I presented the books five times, twice at the same home. One family bought the Bible Reference Library, and another lady, who at first didn’t want to let me inside, bought a paperback Bible Readings and couldn’t stop thanking me for coming to her home. I was even able to resolve the problem with last week’s order by phone!

As I added up the orders for the week, I couldn’t believe my own eyes! I felt a little like the widow must have felt in Elisha’s day—pouring oil from a jar that had become a ceaseless fountain!