A few weeks ago, my parents surprised me with a new car!

I write this short article for the sole purpose of giving God the glory for something He did in my life. I am so incredibly overwhelmed and grateful to Him for such a good gift, and I feel I must share it. This is an answer to dozens, if not hundreds, of times of me praying to God, on my knees, for the provision of a car.

In August, I am moving to Florida to attend Reformation Bible College. It will be the first time I am not living with my parents, and what's more, the first time living in a different state. I have had a 2006 Honda Accord since 2019, and it has served me very well. I was incredibly blessed to get it from a friend who was moving to China, and she gave me a great deal on it. I am still very thankful to this day.

However, as expected, as time goes on, cars break down more and become more unreliable. That's what happened with my Accord. I have had multiple times where it has broken down and a few times where it has left me stranded. Needless to say, I was very hesitant to drive it back and forth from Florida to South Carolina.

Just to put it in perspective, for this first semester alone, I plan to make that trip six times. In my Accord, I was worried I was not going to make it just the first time.

I also, very suddenly, found out that I would, in fact, not be pursuing a career in App Development and instead attend a fairly rigorous Bible College. That being said, I certainly did not have the money to go out and buy a car and pay for the first year of Bible College. The used car market is getting better, but it has been very bad over the past year. I couldn't find a legitimate 2010 CRV with milage under 170,000 for less than $10,000. And I couldn't even afford that with all my other upcoming, necessary expenses.

This is where the prayer started. As I mentioned, I often found myself on my knees praying to God for financial, spiritual, mental, and emotional provision for the massive step ahead of me and that He might provide me with a safer car to drive. Over the past few months, I have decided to go on my knees while praying more than I used to because I believe it is what God deserves. Scratch that; I know God deserves much (MUCH!) more than that, but as of now, that is the most reverence I can think to exert during prayer. I do pray I will discover more and more reverent ways to worship God as I grow closer and closer to Him.

All that to say, I continued in prayer from October until now, and I still am, of course. However, as time went on with (seemingly) no answer, or at least one I liked (remember, I am still sinful), I started to assume that the provision of a car was not in God's will. He had graciously provided in so many other ways, so I started to give up on a search for a car and planned to use my Accord for the next few months.

I had this strange feeling for months that I would end up with a car. I'm not sure what that was. It certainly could have just been myself being hopeful. That was probably it. But if God is sovereign over all things, wouldn't that mean, even if it was just my feelings, He was the one that ordained those feelings to come to pass?

Either way, God has me right where He wanted me: Trusting and dependent on Him. That is where He wants all of His children. That is something I struggle with daily, most likely because of my incredible, sinful stupidity. But that is what God, in this season of my life, is burning into me: Trust in Him.

Two weeks ago, as my parents and I were on our deck in the evening, they told me that they were going to buy me a car. I was shocked, to say the least. I never expected that. Not because I thought my parents didn't like giving me good gifts, but because we are certainly not the type of people to buy cars left and right. I was shocked and extremely excited.

They explained to me that over the past few months, my dad had inexplicably received multiple promotions at his job. They saw that as a God-given opportunity to help me get to my next big step in life. During my months of praying, they had been planning and saving to provide me with exactly what I was asking God for. And I had no idea.

I want to make it incredibly clear that I am so grateful to my parents for such an amazing gift. As far as I know, I have never felt more grateful for a gift. It's not even because of the scale of it, but because of the great thoughtfulness and love involved. Daddy and Mama, I am so grateful for both of your great generosity.

However, greater things are going on here than my parents or me. God is at work here. God is the one who provided this car. He used my parents as the means to have His great will and gracious provision be done, but He is the one who did it all. He is the one who strategically planned these promotions for my dad. He is the one who put in my parent's hearts the desire to support me during this big move. He is over it all. All the glory goes to Him.

The reason my parents provided me with this car is not just because they want me to be safe, though you better be sure that is one of the reasons. No, the main reason is because they saw the call of God in my life. They saw me completely change and pursue something I would never pursue on my own. They saw the working of almighty God, and they could not see how they couldn't help me with it. They saw the great provision of God in their lives as a way to provide in my life. My family does not believe in coincidences, we believe in the mighty God who ordains and causes all things to happen. When you believe in that, everything has meaning.

In the span of 24 hours, months of prayers were answered. It was thrilling to be living in an answer to prayer and know it.

As I drove home from the lot in my new car, I felt a great sense of humility. I do not deserve this. Why in the world would my parents give me such a good gift? Why in the world would the God of the universe, the One who holds all things together, be so incredibly loving, kind, and gracious to me? Why would He be so thoughtful to me? Me, a creature from the dust who seems to always commit treason against Him. Why would He answer my prayer?

This is just a car, an earthly possession that means absolutely nothing. The car is not what I love; it is the God who decided to give it to me that I love. It's the God who works secretly behind the scenes for months to provide me with something that keeps me safer. To provide me with something that makes this massive, terrifying step a little less scary. Who cares enough about me to make me feel secure. The God who knows my need and, if it is good for Him and good for me, provides it.

That is the story of this provision: Prayer, Trust, and the Wonderful Grace of God's Provision. He is always working, no matter if we like how it works out or not. He is always working. I just need to trust Him. Trust in God.

PS: This photo was taken at the trail where I feel a special closeness to God, in His creation. This is the place where I was called to Bible college and asked many times for provision.