God: Our Provider and Protector

I don't know why things happen the way they do. Ashley and I were all ready to embark on a risky venture that was going to take time and money with the possibility of making a nice profit at the end. We were about to close on a townhouse we had found and decided to flip. It was a small place, very manageable, and had lots of potential. We were excited, apprehensive, but faithful throughout the process leading up to closing. We hit some bumps along the way, but the inspection was successful and the appraisal came in higher than our contract amount. Everything was looking okay. All the while, I was a little nervous and I don't know if I was forcing some kind of peace about the situation, but my human side was reminding me all along the way just how much money we were about to fork over to the bank to purchase this house. Maybe I was ignoring that funny feeling in my stomach, but I kept praying every night for protection and that God would rescue us from this situation if it were not to be. From the mouth of John Maxwell, "we all are only one step away from stupid."

Two days ago, we were ready to do it. Insurance application was done, underwriting was complete, addendums were signed, and all that was left was the closing day where we sign over our life and wire the bank a bunch of money. We were going to have to wire the bank our money. Sounds like something that happens in a movie, doesn't it?

Then, I get an email. It turns out our bank made a mistake processing the loan, and now the loan amount they were going to give us was about 20% lower than expected. Jaw drop! Even though I was livid at the bank for dropping this on us 3 days before closing, I felt a small sense of peace. Suddenly, I realized that we're not supposed to do this right now. It may be the right time one day, but just not now. I felt it. It couldn't have been clearer. God was protecting us from a situation he knew we shouldn't be in at this time. It doesn't really matter the reason why we were kept from this. It may have been a financial reason, the loss of crucial family time, an injury that occurs during the renovation, the list goes on... Only God knows the reason and that's all that really matters. We are incredibly gracious and blessed that God loves us enough to give us that clear sign that we needed to call this off. He continues to provide for our family and protect us from bad decisions we make all the time. We just have to keep praying, listening, and feeling for that ultimate guidance. He's always there. The guidance is always there. It may not always be a hammer to the head or a light bulb that goes off, but it's there. Some situations call for a clearer sign than other situations. Even when we ignore the small signs early in the process, God continues to provide more signs along the way choosing to make them clearer and clearer. What an awesome God we have!

So let us keep our minds, ears, eyes, and heart on the one who provides and protects. Amen.

- Adam

- Adam