Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew- 14:31 ESV

I waited until the last possible moment to turn in my resignation. After fifteen years of teaching, I was actually quitting to stay home with my daughter. I was terrified but exhilarated. In a down economy I had job security, and I was giving it up with no guarantee of the future. But at least I would now have plenty of time to argue with my preschooler about why that shirt looks hideous with those pants nurture my child into the woman she is meant to be.

For over two years now, God has been a faithful provider with countless side jobs to supplement our income.  Now most of it has come to a screeching halt, and I have caught myself looking up and asking God why He would bring us this far for it all to come to an end now.

After seeing Jesus walk on water, Peter stepped out of the boat in faith to go to Him, but the wind distracted Peter and he was overcome with fear. Instantly he began to sink. Like the apostle Peter, as long as I look at Jesus I am fine. The moment I take my eyes off Him, the water begins to swallow me as I am overcome by all the problems I am powerless to solve.

When I am overcome by fear, I look back and the prayer He answered last summer in dramatic fashion. A minor exchange with the woman God used to set me free showed me He cares about even the smallest request.

As I settled into my seat at the Proverbs 31 Ministries She Speaks conference, the girl next to me leaned over and said, “That’s Mandisa three rows directly in front of you.” My heart jumped. It was Mandisa’s song Say Goodbye that struck a chord with me over two years ago.

All I had asked for was an email address to thank her. Instead, God placed Mandisa three rows in front of me at a conference of over seven hundred women, in the same session she was attending, with what looked to me like over two hundred chairs in the room. Only God.

I will spare you the details of the embarrassing spectacle I made of myself as I tried to find the words, but let’s just say I caught a glimpse of the look on her assistant’s face out of the corner of my eye, and I don’t remember the last time I saw someone look that uncomfortable for me. Mandisa was extremely gracious, and I left wowed by God.

Instead of fearing the unknown, I am going to thank God for providing even though I do not see the answer yet. I do not know how He will answer, but He will answer. That is faith, and it is brand new to me. It is being certain of what is unseen, even when the obstacle appears insurmountable. Faith is also a verb. It requires action on our part to believe the promises God has given us in the Bible.

Peter’s name was changed by Jesus Himself. Given the name Simon at birth, Jesus changed it to Peter, which means rock. Jesus moved Peter from a man ruled by doubt and fear to the man who would boldly proclaim the gospel which would eventually cost him his life. If He can do that, He can meet the need of my mortgage payment.

Will you show God you trust Him to provide by thanking Him before you see His answers?