Stand By Night

A week ago I had a meeting with the Nightwatch leader here at the House of Prayer. Things have been rough for everybody financially, and he wanted to make sure I was doing OK. The only area that I said I was concerned about was where I was living; my rent was due in a few days and I didn’t have it. He asked me what it would take for me to say I was done living on support, and go get a job. Not leaving the prayer room, just pulling back enough to work. I said that if the rent money didn’t come in, and I had no other place to stay except my parents’ house, I would take that as a sign that I should get a job that payed enough for rent.
I decided weeks ago that even if it meant living with my parents, I would not ask to live with anyone. I would pray, and wait for God’s place for me to be offered.

Here’s what God did. A good friend of mine (I’ve lived with him before, actually) came over to hang out for a little bit today. He has been renting a room in a house that’s being foreclosed on, so he just got his own apartment. During the course of the conversation it came up that I had to be out of my current house by the end of the week. His immediate response was, “Dude, I have my own place now. Just come live with me.” I explained that I didn’t just need a floor to crash on for a few nights, I needed a place to live for a time. He said, “Cool. Just buy your own food, and help out with utilities when you can.”
Yay! Not only do I have a place to stay, but it’s with someone that I already know and love, and it’s closer to the prayer room. I am so thankful to God right now.

Paul wrote to the Roman church, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” The words ‘all’ and ‘things’ are the same Greek word: pas. It’s the same word twice. “Pas pas” in Greek culture would mean ‘all of everything’, or simply ‘everything that exists’. Christians usually take a selfish view of that verse. Something along the lines of, “Everything that happens to me will turn out OK in the end.” But it’s bigger than that. It’s more like, “Everything in the entire universe is being orchestrated by God for my benefit.”

Yay!

-J