יְהוָ֣ה ׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה – YHWH Yireh – Jehovah Jireh – A symbolic name for Mount Moriah – The Lord Provides.
No names are mentioned in this article. It is an intentional omission. The people the Lord used to make this testimony possible are humble people and would likely be embarrassed if I mentioned them by name.
The date was December 9, 2015. I was driving home from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department headquarters building. I had gone there to pick up my renewed retired deputy sheriff credentials. My phone lit up, indicating I had just received a text. I looked down. The text read:
“Good morning, brother. Can you call when you’re able, please. Found an SUV.”
A friend in Iowa who supports my family and ministry, who is also in the business of buying and selling used cars, had been searching the country for a car, for me. After more than 250,000 miles, my 2003 Toyota Corolla was beginning to show its age. I bought the car new and paid it off by 2006. It was the best car I had ever owned.
Like many people who support the ministry, my friend knew I had been praying the Lord would provide a new vehicle before the car finally died. The Corolla still had the original engine and transmission. And, like many people who support the ministry, my friend was praying, too.
A donation of several thousands of dollars had come into the ministry. I asked the donor if I could use the funds toward a new vehicle. Without hesitation, he agreed. I let my friend in Iowa know that I was going to use donated funds toward a new vehicle. I asked him to help me find a good car for an amount within my budget. I had also planned to use up to $2,000 from personal savings account toward the purchase.
Too excited to wait until I got home, I called my friend from the westbound 10 Freeway, in East Los Angeles. My friend had told me in previous text messages that he wanted to find the absolute best car to fit my needs.
“Tony. I think I found it. I think I found the car.”
Had anyone else told me about the vehicle my friend in Iowa said he had found, I would have thought he was joking. But this was no joke.
My friend found a 2014 Toyota RAV4, fully equipped, with less than 15,000 miles and still under factory warranty. On a scale of 1-5, (5 being a showroom vehicle) the vehicle my friend found had a 4.9 rating. Surely, a vehicle like this had to cost more than we could afford. Again, my friend knew our budget constraints. But nothing is too difficult for the Lord.
“Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17).
With the donation we had received, the vehicle would cost us less than $2,000–the amount I had planned to take out of personal savings.
This was not too good to be true. This was the Lord showing His love through the kindness, generosity, wisdom, and expertise of His people. The Lord cannot be too good, for He is perfectly good. He cannot be outdone. He cannot outdo Himself. He alone is truly good. He is the Designer of good, the Definer of good, the Determiner of good, and the Dispenser of good.
יְהוָ֣ה ׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה – The Lord Provides.
On Tuesday, December 15, I hopped into my Toyota Corolla for one last drive. It would be the longest drive I ever made in the car–almost 1,900 miles from Southern California to Southeast Iowa. The Corolla would remain in Iowa until a fellow street evangelist came to pick it up. Although 13-years-old, the Corolla will provide him with better transportation than he presently has.
I arrived at my friend’s home in Southern Iowa, on Wednesday evening. My new car had not yet arrived from Fort Lauderdale, FL. The hope was that it would arrive on Thursday afternoon, Friday morning at the latest.
I would quickly learn that a new car is not the only thing the Lord had for me in Iowa.
יְהוָ֣ה ׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה – The Lord Provides.
My friend probably knew me better than I knew him. The time we had spent together prior to my trip to Southern Iowa was limited to fellowship at the Shepherds’ Conference and evangelism one morning outside the St. Louis Rams’ stadium. Yet here I now was in his home, enjoying some cheese, salami, and fellowship while his family was out singing Christmas carols. One of his sons would spend a couple nights sleeping on the couch so I could rest comfortably in his room.
My friend’s family returned home. After a brief time of fellowship with the family, I called it a night. I had driven more than 800 miles that day and would be up by 5:00 AM.
By the time I came downstairs the next morning, my friend was already well into his study of the Word of God. One of his daughters lovingly prepared our breakfast. This was not a special occasion. This young woman regularly ministers to her dad and the rest of the family in this way.
My friend is a successful business man–owning and operating more than one business. Before heading to his car dealership, we stopped by his other business–a business about as different from his car dealership as one could be, which gave evidence to the diversity of my friend’s entrepreneurship and the depth and breadth of his work ethic. There I met his employees, including a brother in Christ who is tasked with running the operation.
Something I saw at my friend’s shop impressed me even more than his business skills. My friend is a shepherd of people–a shepherd who truly cares for those under his leadership.
When all of the employees arrived, everyone gathered in a circle in the main area of the shop. My friend and the business manager made their way to each and every person in the circle. Both men shook each employee’s hand, said “good morning,” and spent a moment or two talking to each employee about his or her life. Each person, including my friend’s second eldest son, wasn’t simply made to feel important. Each person was shown that they are important.
Once my friend saw to it that the day was started properly at his first business, we made our way to his car dealership. There I met another group of people who all seemed to want to be there, including my friend’s eldest son. Like at the first business, my friend had a man of God working by his side at the car dealership. They built the business together.
Shortly after we arrived, we made our way into a small office, which was not much bigger than a jail cell. We were soon joined by ten other men. Most worked for the car dealership. Others worked elsewhere in town. All were brothers in Christ. The reason we gathered was for a brief reading and study of God’s Word, which was led by my friend.
We read a chapter in Proverbs, with several men reading five verses each. My friend then led a brief devotion, pointing out key truths in the chapter. We then turned to 1 Peter 4 and repeated the process.
I not only listened to my friend’s teaching, but I also watched him teach. I caught myself staring at his Bible. It was the kind Pastor John MacArthur would love. It didn’t have an expensive leather cover. The edges of the [pages were not covered in gold leaf. In fact, if Indiana Jones in the Last Crusade had to choose one Bible of many spread across a table, he would choose my friend’s. It was old and tattered. It was a paperback with what seemed like a Post-it stuck to almost every page. The pages were dirty from frequent manipulation. It was obvious my friend spent much time throughout the day looking at the pages of The Book.
My friend taught as a man who truly loved the Word, the Lord, and the men in that little office. What an encouragement.
יְהוָ֣ה ׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה – The Lord Provides.
That evening, I was blessed with the honor and privilege of teaching my friend’s weekly Bible study, which he hosted in his barn. 20-30 people, including children of all ages, gathered in the barn, which was heated by a wood-burning stove in the corner. The lights were dim, but the mood was bright.
The people who gathered in the barn were from various churches in the area. It was not a meeting of “Club Frustration.” It was not a gathering of people with the common bond of ecclesiastical misery loves company. These were friends. These were brothers and sisters in Christ. These were people who loved each other. These were people who loved the Lord and His Word–people who simply wanted more of both.
My friend leads the Bible study because he loves his friends and his family and because he has a shepherd’s heart. My friend is not a thief. He is not engaged in stealing sheep from other folds.
Before the meeting began, I looked out the partially opened barn door and noticed a dark red SUV pull up. My friend smiled at me and said, “Why don’t you go outside and see who’s here.”
Like a kid who was just surprised with his first bicycle, I walked out of the barn, lifted my hands in the air, and probably let out a baritone squeal. My friend’s partner at the car dealership got out of the driver’s seat, walked around the back of the vehicle, and handed me a set of keys. “The transport truck arrived at about 5:30.” He said with a smile and what looked like a tear in his eye.
I gave him a big hug and thanked him. My friend made me aware that this man, this brother in Christ, did most of the work in finding and securing the vehicle.
Others came out of the barn. Everyone was smiling. We all enjoyed a moment of God’s abundant grace and blessing together.
I taught about the true work of the Holy Spirit, from John 16. Although I’ve told myself many times that I am not a church planter (been there; done that; failed at it), and although I’ve told myself many times that people need more than an old, broken-down, street preacher for a pastor, I could not shake the pure joy that came with teaching this wonderful group of people in a 100-year-old barn. I felt very much at home.
I feel the same way in Beaverton, Davenport, Cazenovia Village, and St. Louis. But this was different. The before-mentioned places have wonderful men of God leading their respective flocks. When I’m in these churches, I feel like a sheepdog, heeling next to the shepherd, awaiting the next command. It’s a great feeling. I am very content in that role. But in the old, dimly lit barn I felt like a shepherd. My heart swelled with love for the people.
Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Can a sheepdog become a shepherd–a good shepherd?
I thank God for what He allowed me to experience, give, and receive in that barn. He provided me with so much that night.
At the end of the evening, my friend’s partner asked for the keys he had given me just a couple hours earlier. He wanted to give the vehicle the once-over before I hit the road the next morning, for the 1,900-mile drive home. I hugged and thanked him again for being used by the Lord to bless me. Words seemed wholly inadequate, but for these men words were plenty.
יְהוָ֣ה ׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה – The Lord Provides.
Friday morning began as Thursday morning did. A stop at the shop to get the crew of that business going was followed by fellowship and Bible study at the auto dealership.
After the Bible study, it was time to get on the road in my new car–a vehicle the Lord provided, using His people to accomplish His purposes. After completing the necessary paperwork, I walked out to my new vehicle. I was stopped along the way by a brother in Christ. He handed me an envelope, smiled, and gave me a hug. To the very last moment with my Christian brethren in Southeast Iowa, the Lord blessed me and provided for me.
The drive home was long and difficult. The weather was great, but my strength was low. I was determined to get home by dinner on Saturday evening. An important family get-together was happening on Sunday afternoon, and I needed to be there.
I slept for about an hour at a truck stop east of Albuquerque, NM. The only other sleep I had on the 30-hour drive home was about 30 minutes in the parking lot of a general store, somewhere near Gallup, AZ. An IV drip of vanilla iced coffee with extra non-fat milk would have been helpful. Yet even through eyelids that felt like kettle bells and with a brain that was functioning at a fraction of its normal capacity (which isn’t much to begin with), the Lord gave me a precious moment of wonder, awe, and worship.
As I drove westbound on Interstate 40, somewhere east of Flagstaff, AZ, my attention was drawn to a beautiful snow-capped mountain. There it stood–alone, regal, magnificent. The sight of it brought me to a state of worship. “The Lord did that!” I declared aloud. Praise, thanksgiving, confession. I was in the Lord’s presence. I asked Him to help me worship Him in spirit and in truth. He provided what I needed.
יְהוָ֣ה ׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה – The Lord Provides.
I arrived home a little after 4:00 PM, local time, on Saturday. Of course it was pouring rain in sunny Southern California. Oh, the irony. The weather was better in Southeast Iowa than in Southern California. Once in the door, I was met with the warm and loving hugs of my family. My family. The Lord has provided me with such a wonderful family.
While I’ve tried to provide as much detail as possible in this article, I am certain I have fallen woefully short of conveying how good God has been to me in recent days. I lack the literary prowess to do justice to the Lord’s wonderful love, grace, and mercy.
I can, however, say this. יְהוָ֣ה ׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה – The Lord Provides. Yes, the Lord provides. Blessed be the name of the Lord!
Wayne Almlie says
Too bad you felt the need to conceal there identities. I live in Iowa and they sound like the kind of people I would like to meet and have fellowship with some time.
nonya says
God does not provide for bums who refuse to work. Quit using religion as an excuse to milk folks for money. You are no better than the word of faith wolves. Get a job bum!