The most important social relationship I have in my life is the relationship I have with my husband, Bill.  We have been married for thirty-one years, and while we have a wonderful marriage, it has not been free of problems.  When our oldest was born, we prayed fervently for God’s direction and felt that He was leading me to become a full-time mother.  I confidently submitted my resignation to the county board of education, and my new journey began. Life was good.

Bill had always worked in the manufacturing industry.  Every time the plant was bought and sold, there was the threat of a job loss.  Initially I seemed to live in fear of the possibility that we would fall victims to this common occurrence.  When the company was bought and sold a few times, and Bill did not lose his job, the fear left me and I resolved that what I feared most would probably never happen to us. I was wrong.

On a windy Monday in March while the toddlers were sleeping , Bill called home from work to talk to me. He immediately told me that the conversation would need to be brief, but he thought I needed to know that Friday would be his last day of work.  He and one hundred others would be losing their jobs. I masked my emotion because I felt I needed to be strong for him. I did not react but listened and told him that I would not waiver my faith in God to provide for us.  I hung up the phone; my guard came down, and for over an hour I cried.  I was devastated.

Although I could not pray, I felt an overwhelming conviction from the Holy Spirit to read the Word. God impressed upon me to read the book of Joshua. Twenty-five years ago, I did not know much about this book of the Bible because I had always been a lover of the New Testament. I pulled out an old Living Bible with a fifth-grade-level translation.  I needed something easy to read because I could hardly pull myself together.  I began reading the first chapter, and it seemed to be just the message I needed.  Joshua was taking Moses’ place, and God was charging him to be bold, brave, and courageous.  God followed these commands with a promise that He would never leave Joshua, and that Joshua would be successful in whatever he did, as long as he followed God’s command.  Joshua was instructed to follow closely and be obedient to the Lord. I was enjoying this story, and I was mesmerized by the power of the Holy Spirit to lead me to just the right passage.  This was exactly what I needed to hear. God told Joshua that He would do for him what He had done for Moses. I was confident that God would take care of us, too.  I continued reading.

The crying stopped, and I began to be comforted in a way I had never known. These promises given to Joshua were also promises for our family; they displayed the very character of God.  In the fourth chapter, Joshua goes with the twelve priests down to the river. When the thirteen men put their feet in the water, God parted the Jordan River.  I was amazed and shaking, to be honest, when I read the nineteenth verse of the fourth chapter in that old Living Bible, “And this miracle occurred on the twenty-fifth day of March.”  As a stay-at-home mom, I rarely knew the day of the month. As I quickly ran to the kitchen and flipped the calendar, I realized God had spoken to me through His Word.  I shared the news with Bill when he got home from work. We knew God was in the middle of what we were calling a problem.  It was evident.

During the next eleven months, we proactively handled the issue in three ways.  First, we prayed daily for God’s provision and guidance. Next, we limited our spending and made no major purchases.  Finally, we waited with excitement, believing that God would turn this situation around for our good and His glory.  Jehovah Jireh opened the windows of Heaven and poured out blessings that we could not hold.  Our circumstances had poured the foundation for the faith family that we are today.

Impeccable Promises is my attempt to share the promises of God on which I have stood for over three decades. The Bible IS a living Word; the Word IS God, and it is a resource available to us, His children, to use as our guide and comfort while standing on His promises.