"My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19
On a cold, dark Thursday night in the winter of 2016, my little schnauzer and I were driving north to my mom’s house, two hours away from where we lived. About 45 minutes up the road, the low tire light on the dashboard flipped on. I was near the college town of Olivet, Michigan, so I went to the first gas station, which was also a convenience store, and called road service.
The guy came out and checked the tires. Everything was fine—no problems.
The following Thursday, just one week later, at the same time and in the same place, the same thing happened. So, I chose to try and check the tires myself that night. Problem: the coin machine, credit card slot, and air hose were all frozen. Nothing worked.
I went inside the convenience store to ask a question. The people behind the counter asked, “Weren’t you here last week?”
“Yes, same time, same place, same problem! Except this time, your air pumps are frozen. What do I do?”
“You can go to the little store on the other side of town.”
I knew where it was, and I mentioned that they had just closed and that the air hose was in a dark corner. I didn’t know how safe it might be.
A lady named Becky was getting ready to check out. She very helpfully offered, “Just give me a couple minutes, and I will follow you so you can use my headlights to see what you are doing.”
She was so kind and did exactly what she said she would. I asked if she liked to read, which she did. Because it was a favorite activity, I was able to give Becky a book to boost her spiritual life and pray with her.
By July 2023, Gus, the schnauzer, and I had lived in Chewelah, Washington, for a year. I drove into town to buy drinking water on a very hot afternoon. On my way to Safeway, all of the dashboard lights began to flash—not a good thing. I found some shade and parked until the car cooled and no more lights. I stopped two more times on the way home just so the car wouldn’t get too hot, figuring that was the problem.
That evening, when the air was a little cooler, I decided to drive to Dollar General to buy water (the water is not drinkable where I live). Everything was fine—until it wasn’t. Just as I arrived, the dashboard lights were dancing again.
After I bought the water, the lights still flashed. I looked under the hood to see what was going on. I needed some oil, so I put that in. The radiator coolant looked low as well, so I went back into the store and bought some. Even the store workers looked at it, and they also noted that it was low, so I filled the reservoir.
A couple of lights on the dashboard went out, but as I drove up the very steep hill to our house, ALL of the lights were twinkling again. Since sunset was long past, I waited until morning to look under the hood in better light. All of the dashboard lights were still having a party. Also, the reservoir was empty AGAIN! Plus, in better light, I could see wet droplets near the hoses. I definitely had a leak.
I had to wait until Monday to call Subaru Guru near where I live, but I did call my insurance company that Friday about getting the car towed the 25 miles. When the insurance agent told me about the towing company—God Fearing Brothers—with a name like that, I just knew that someone needed a Great Controversy book. (The Great Controversy is a book explaining the conflict between good and evil, Christ and Satan, from beginning to the final end.)
A week later, when the tow-truck guy came, I asked if he liked to read—firmly negative!
The following week, when they pressure tested the car and did another test, they could find NO leak, even though I had witnesses that there was a leak. A guy named Joseph asked for more details, and they still couldn’t find anything wrong with the car. The first time they turned on the ignition—no dashboard lights!
The only thing they found was that some mice had built nests inside the wire harness, so they cleaned them out. Guess what they charged me to do the job? $0. I later learned that the coating on the wires is made from peanuts or soy, and mice LOVE those flavors.
The question remained: who was supposed to receive a copy of The Great Controversy?
The day after I picked up my car, I walked into NAPA Auto Parts to replace the oil I had used. When the guy who rang up my total said something about having to pay Caesar in reference to the sales tax, I knew I had found the person.
As it turned out, Nate loves to read, especially history, such as ancient Roman history and French Revolution history. All of that, and a whole lot more, is in this book. God had revealed who needed The Great Controversy!
Call to Action
Often, when God supplies us with our needs, He uses the situation to care for one of His needs if we allow Him to use us. When you have a need, will you listen for God’s call so He can lead you to help fill His need as well? Ask and listen for Divine appointments. You will be amazed at what He has in store for you.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman \ Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
