You know those prophetic words you receive that you think, ”Hmm, I’m not sure about that one.” Well, I received just such a word back in the fall. My husband and I used to be part of a mission organization for 10+ years and would take trips regularly. Well, you know the part of mission trips that everyone loves (ha) is raising the funds. Since we have been doing it for years it wasn’t such a daunting task as it is to everyone else. We always prayed and got God’s strategies and we would put them into practice, which meant we asked people to give. The money always came in but, you know, there was always that little fear that it wouldn’t. Well, the word I received was that we would not have to ask anyone for the money we needed for our ministry trips.

Did you notice it says trips and not trip? Yes, we were planning on going on more than one. I thought, “How can the money come in if we don’t ask anyone and we need to see a significant amount come in to be able to go?” I didn’t even share the word with my husband and I almost forgot about it. December rolls around and I get a call from someone who asks if we are planning on going on any trips in the New Year. At this point we hadn’t announced we were going. They tell me they want to give a year-end gift so we can go and I’m stoked. When I received the check I was blown away by the amount. I didn’t think anything about the prophetic word as it was stuck way back on the shelf. Just days later my husband is approached at my hometown church by a friend who tells us to let him know if we need any financial help. “OK,” I think, “what about that prophetic word I received, could that be happening?” I’m not convinced so I still don’t share it with my husband.

The New Year rolls along and my husband gets a phone call from someone asking if we are going on any trips because he felt like God told him to give to us. When my husband shares the good news I realize that what I thought was a silly prophetic word is actually happening! I finally tell him about it and it still feels surreal. We still needed some money for our trips so we share with the guy who approached us at church and he gave to us generously, but we still need a bit more. Remember that first phone call I received? Well, that same person contacted me and had another check to give to us. This one covered the rest of our trips! We never had to approach anyone on our own.

This experience brought breakthrough in my trust with God for provision and for those words that I don’t totally see how they will work out. What words have you put on the shelf that God wants to fulfill?

By Amy Ford