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How Searching for My Nephew Gave New Meaning to Psalm 139

by Jennifer Schmidt

In and through the Darkness of Depression

by Alia Joy

I Dare You: Buy the Flowers

by Kaitlyn Bouchillon

May He Put You Together

by Sarah Mae

A Love Story: the Legacy of My Grandmother

by Lucretia Berry

What You Just Can’t Do on Social Media

by Holley Gerth

High-waisted Jeans and
Emotional Muffin Tops

by Kristen Strong

My Early Morning Sisterhood

by Dawn Camp

Walking Arm in Arm

by (in)courage

Contributor Spotlight:
Pull Up a Chair with Denise, Michele & Renee!

by Becky Keife

What’s Your Word?

by Kim Marquette

Praying for All of Us

by Patricia Raybon

I Dare You: Buy the Flowers

by Kaitlyn Bouchillon

When You Feel Rejected and Unseen

by Jennifer Dukes Lee

A Word for Those Who Feel Unseen

by Karina Allen

In and through the Darkness of Depression

by Alia Joy

When You’re in the Presence of Grief

by Grace P. Cho

A Call to Courage!
(and a Community Survey)

by Becky Keife

Ride with Your Hands Up

by Brenda Koinis

Learning a Little Courage from Our Kids

by Patricia Raybon

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Fearless Faith and a Five-Dollar Bill

by Doris Swift Aug 21, 2015 in:Encouragement

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20150821-Swift-Extraordinary

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?

Related: Gift your friend this beautiful indigo scarf from fashionABLE for a special occasion or just because.

by Doris Swift
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Doris Swift

Doris is the author of Goodbye, Regret: Forgiving Yourself of Past Mistakes. Her passion is sharing God's truth and encouraging women to grow in Christ and bloom in their calling. She reaches out to women through her blog Walking Deeper. Doris currently resides in Florida with her husband Brian.
Author Website

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Comments

  1. Marianne says

    August 21, 2015 at 6:49 am

    Praying and believing for an extraordinary thing to happen on an ordinary day. My dreams were crushed this year, only GOD can resurrect them

    • Doris Swift says

      August 21, 2015 at 8:35 am

      Praying for you Marianne! Keep trusting in God, who is able to
      accomplish exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or think. He
      brings beauty from ashes, and replaces crushed dreams with renewed hope.
      May you be encouraged today by His promise in Romans 8:28, that He
      surely works all things together for our good. The waiting can be hard,
      can’t it? Even while we wait, God is moving. Blessings to you my sister,
      and thanks for sharing your heart today. Your plans are in His hands.

  2. Doris Swift says

    August 21, 2015 at 8:33 am

    Praying for you Marianne! Keep trusting in God, who is able to accomplish exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or think. He brings beauty from ashes, and replaces crushed dreams with renewed hope. May you be encouraged today by His promise in Romans 8:28, that He surely works all things together for our good. The waiting can be hard, can’t it? Even while we wait, God is moving. Blessings to you my sister, and thanks for sharing your heart today.

  3. Adeola Odutola says

    August 22, 2015 at 2:43 am

    This morning as I woke I cried unto the Lord and wondered if He knew where I was. My faith is really troubled and wonder when He will come in. But reading what you wrote is strengthening me. Because in my innermost heart I know nothing is impossible for Him. Thankyou

    • Doris Swift says

      August 22, 2015 at 9:14 am

      Hi Adeola, keep trusting God, He wanted you to know He sees you at this very moment. His promises are true, and when we seek Him we will find Him. He is with you, and I believe nothing happens by accident, He knows you personally and wanted you to know that today. We are not just a spec on the earth, we are fearfully and wonderfully made by our God who loves us. Praying for you!

      • Adeola Odutola says

        August 22, 2015 at 1:58 pm

        Thankyou.

  4. Carol says

    August 22, 2015 at 10:18 am

    What a special story! So hard to know when to stop, when to keep going…but He knows our hearts and met your need.

    • Doris Swift says

      August 22, 2015 at 3:55 pm

      He sure does, and He sure did Carol! I love your analogy of the “when to stop and when to keep going” so relevant in so many ways. Thank you for reading, and for taking time to share your comments. God bless!

  5. Curley says

    January 4, 2016 at 12:10 am

    Thank you for sharing your story,our God is Awesome always on time,Glory to God,Amen

    • Doris Swift says

      January 4, 2016 at 3:37 am

      Amen, God is faithful, and his timing is perfect! He meets us in our need right on time every time. Thanks for reading and sharing your comments Curley! Blessings to you!!

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