Today I am grateful that this scripture is true. 1 Nephi 17:3 "And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them . . ." Most of the time we have to take that leap of faith FIRST, pay that tithing or give up that bad habit. Then he will take care of us; make the money last, help us find the resources to kick that habit etc. Sometimes it happens in reverse order. Sometimes the Lord provides the means and then asks the commandment of us. Either way, I know that when the Lord needs us to do something he will always provide a way for it to happen.
A month ago Jeff got in a car accident. We decided to get a new car and put the money that the insurance gave us for his old one in the bank for a "rainy day." Yesterday that money was unexpectedly needed and we had it. I know for a fact that the Lord will always "provide means" for us when we try to keep his commandments and do what he asks.
It's not always financial means either. In dental school Chandler was getting ready to be born and we needed to kick Courtney out of her crib to put Chandler in it. We didn't have any money to go buy a new bed for her. Shortly there after, I walked out back and our neighbor had thrown away a perfectly good futon (minus a few very fixable broken slats). I asked if I could have it and she said, "Sure." I needed a bed for my child and the windows of Heaven opened and poured one down for me. It wasn't brand new or fancy - but it was just what we needed and I knew that Heavenly Father provided a means for us because we were paying our tithing, serving in the church and doing what had been asked of us.
Another time, after Courtney was born we had been living with my Grandma in Ogden and needed to find our own place. There were no apartments near where we wanted to be and the ones that were further away were more money than we could afford. (I had decided to quit teaching school and stay home to raise Courtney. Jeff had a part time job while going to school and I was going to go back to waiting tables part time at night so that we wouldn't have to put Courtney in daycare.) Anyway, we did not see how this was going to work. Our limited incomes couldn't really afford for me to stay home with this new baby, but I knew that is what we had been instructed by the Lord to do if possible. So we fasted about it. That day in church this awesome couple in our ward came up to us and said, "We are going on a mission and would like someone to live in our house rent-free while we are gone. Would you be interested?"
"If it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them . . ."
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