Increasing Faith

"I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel." --Isaiah 45:2-3.

This past summer, my class (the 2011 Verity class) was inspired by God to travel to Israel for our Senior Mission's Trip. Through much prayer as well as some fasting, God has allowed these plans to formulate into actuality and if the Lord allows, we will be leaving for Tel Aviv on March 21! 

Flying nearly half-way around the globe costs no small amount of money. Last fall, to reserve our places on the plane to Israel, we were required to make a $500 deposit to Jim Jackson, the leader of our Trans-Atlantic excursion. With the deadline approaching I asked my dad what I should do about the 500 dollars and he responded that I should go ahead and pay it. I took this as direction from God that He wanted me to participate in the trip to Israel. That was about three days before the deadline. 

The next day, Dr. McCray invited the 2011 class to his home to discuss the upcoming trip with us. After talking for a while, we broke up into small groups of about four and prayed together for the journey. When I prayed with my group, I told the Lord that I did not feel comfortable asking others specifically for money. Instead, I prayed that God would show Himself strong to me, that my faith would be increased by providing the funds through another way. And He did. The small groups disbanded and we came back together as a whole. Dr. McCray handed a piece of paper around the room that contained all of our names and displayed whether or not we had paid our deposit. When it got to me I found my name and noticed that my $500 deposit showed that it had been paid. Knowing that I had not yet submitted the check to the finance office, I wondered what was going on. A typo, perhaps? Certainly not the mighty hand of God. That would be, well, miraculous. 

The following morning, the day before the deadline, I went to the finance office and asked Adam Anders if it was true that my deposit had been paid. He responded that someone had anonymously donated the 500 dollars necessary for my deposit! I was astounded. In my life, I have never had anything such as this happen. I thank the Lord for prompting someone to provide the funds for me. I know that what I prayed for in the small group at Dr. McCray's house was given to me--increased faith, and a clear view of God showing Himself strong. May I always remember to thank God for what He has done for me!