Romans 5:6 – When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. (NLT)

I was extremely anxious. I had a family to support, but felt God's call into ministry. It was an appeal I had run from for some time. I finally gave in, knowing that it would mean uprooting my family and heading for college to train for this faith adventure.

After moving in with my parents for a few months to pay off as many bills as possible, we loaded our belongings in a U-Haul truck and set out for a new frontier. I arranged for some student loans, but that money wouldn't arrive for two months.

But this story has an interesting twist. One particular Sunday morning, a gentleman at church approached me with another tale. He had inherited a sum of money with the stipulation that he would use some of it to help anyone he encountered whom God was calling into full-time ministry. After telling his yarn, he handed me an envelope. When I got home, I opened the prize with anticipation. Was this God's way of answering my anxious prayers about how I was going to survive? Sure enough, the amount was sufficient to live on until the loans arrived.

Since then, I've learned on more than one occasion how God's pattern is usually intervention just in the nick of time. I suppose He knows this will grow my faith and cause me to relinquish trust in my own cleverly-devised plans.

According to Paul, in today's Scripture verse, when I was utterly helpless, God intervened just at the right time. When I had reached the end of my rope, a baby was born in Bethlehem. When there was nowhere else to turn for forgiveness of my sins, in came the cross. After allowing the Greeks and Romans to prepare the right conditions, the Saviour was sent.

Prayer: Lord, help us to believe that You will always come to our rescue, just in time. Amen.

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About the author:

Martin Wiles <mandmwiles@gmail.com>
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
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