Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Heb. 11:1 KJV

Recently, my husband needed a new front facia for our car. He had searched for a vendor and made an online purchase. When the large, bulky part arrived, he unwrapped it only to discover it was the wrong facia. We then initiated a return. But since it was our mistake, we were going to have to pay the return shipping fee. We called three carriers only to discover that the package was too big for the small shipping sites to handle, and we would have to go through a freight shipping company. After calling two freight carriers, we discovered this was going to be a costly mistake.

We needed help and decided to call the seller directly rather than rely on the second-party web vendor. Calling from my husband’s phone, I explained the shipping mess we were experiencing. Then, my phone rang. It was a friend who works for a shipping carrier that I had messaged earlier to see if she could advise. As I began talking to her, I passed the other call on to my husband. When I returned, I heard him say, “So you are going to refund the price of the bumper to my account and we don’t need to return it to you?”

I thought, Wait, what in the world just happened?

After receiving some additional information to order the correct part from the vendor, my husband thanked the man on the other end of the call. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “It’s taken care of.”

I was dumbstruck but thankful. The problem was resolved and it wasn’t going to cost us any shipping. Seeing my disbelief, my husband added, “That was God reminding me from our morning devotion that I can trust Him because He is my refuge (Psalm 91:1-2), and He is strengthening my faith. It was a problem, but then God showed up.”

I didn’t expect this to happen. I had faith that we would find a way. However, I thought it would involve cost and hassle. But then God showed His faithfulness. He took my faith and made it real and tangible.

Dear Lord, sometimes the words that come out of my mouth, the actions I take, and the intents of my heart are not mutually synonymous. I try to convince myself that I have faith, but then You step in and show me how faithful You are and how much more faith I need. Help me to always be humble and thankful for Your faithfulness to me even when I cannot see clearly. Amen.

Copyright Tonie Weddle.

Tonie is a member and a language arts teacher in Kentucky.