As a young wife and mom who worked full-time, hectic schedules and finances were a huge challenge. I’ll never forget the morning when my faith and the gas tank both dipped below “Empty.”

Running behind schedule as usual, I somehow managed to get the kids off to school on time, and then head to work. I could feel my heart palpitating as I tried unsuccessfully to ignore the amber fuel light glaring at me.

How long had the warning light been on?

I had no clue, so I prayed God would help me get to my destination. I did well trusting Him for the first three miles or so, then panic set in. I allowed my fear to wash over my faith.

I felt like a faith-failure as I drove to the gas pump. Sure, the car needed gas, but have you ever been on empty, when your bank account was empty too?

The five-dollar-bill in my wallet was to be deposited into our bank account that day. There was still one outstanding check yet to clear, and we needed that five dollars in the bank to avoid an overdraft fee. Even so, I pumped five dollars of gas into the thirsty tank, and continued on to work.

Besides, I had to get back home too, right?

I pulled into the parking lot at work with moments to spare, praying God would somehow fix the looming threat of an overdraft with a hefty fee on top. Oh, and did I mention where I worked? Um, yeah, the bank.

During our team meeting that morning, our surprise guest happened to be our area president. Wonderful, I thought, just the person I wanted to see after pumping an overdraft into my gas tank.

As the meeting went on, the subject of customer service came up. Our company participated in a Secret Shopper program, in which shoppers posing as customers scored employees based on ten service attributes.

For weeks we had been challenged to memorize all ten of the attributes in order. That morning, our special guest threw out a pop-quiz. He asked for volunteers daring enough to recite the attributes from memory.

Before I knew what was happening, my hand shot up like a rocket.

Obviously, the Holy Spirit had a plan, because it certainly wasn’t mine. My last hurrah before the good-girl-turned-bad hit the overdraft list, all ten rolled off my tongue like a symphony.

Our guest smiled and congratulated me. Then he did something unexpected. He pulled his wallet from his pocket, and slid out a crisp, new five-dollar-bill. A reward. A gift.

As he placed that five-dollar-bill into my hand, I stared in amazement, as if I’d never seen one before. That five was worth more to me than a fifty or even a one-hundred dollar bill, even more than gold. Why?

Because at that moment I knew without a doubt, God saw me that morning.

Why would I want more, when enough is all I need?

God met my exact, immediate need. If I had continued on to work that morning, trusting God to get me there on fumes, that answer would have been good, but He promises us exceedingly and abundantly more.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” {Ephesians 3:20}

God does extraordinary things in the midst of our ordinary days.

What I had thought to be a lack of faith, turned into an experience of His supernatural presence in my life. It gave me opportunity not only to see Him, but to know He sees me. The moment that five was placed into my hand, it all became tangibly real.

He is El Roi, the God who sees me, and at this very moment, He sees you too.

I don’t want to miss one single miracle while waiting for the sea to part, how about you?

God turns our fears back to faith, and our doubts back to trust. He reveals Himself to us, even through a five-dollar-bill.

How has God’s extraordinary grace touched your ordinary days?

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