Posted on 09/19/2013 4:45:53 AM PDT by ExGeeEye
Philippians 4:19
Today, I am wearing an orange wristband marked “ARTPRIZE”. I’ll be wearing it most days for the next three weeks or so.
*****
I’ve been riding the bus to school since the second week. Even at full fare—$1.50 each way—it’s less than the combination of gas and parking to drive myself. I use a 31-day pass, which costs $40; in that amount of time I make about 36 bus trips, each one costing a fraction over $1.11. I have used two of these passes so far, and have a fresh one in my pocket right now.
These passes don’t “start” until the first time they’re used.
The last pass I had expired yesterday (18 September). Knowing it was about to expire, I bought the new one last Wednesday, expecting to use it for the first time this morning. The time would have started then, and run until 20 October.
My school concludes 8 November. I have no knowledge about where I’ll be working thereafter, or whether it will be advisable or even practical to use the bus to get there. There is a possibility that I won’t be using buses, and that if I bought another 31-day pass and started using it on 21 October, that half of it would be wasted.
*****
Since 2009, Grand Rapids has sponsored an annual public art exhibition and contest called “ArtPrize” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArtPrize). People are encouraged to come into the downtown area to view artworks and to vote on which piece they like best.
Personally, I’m not “into” art; I occasionally will see a piece that is attractive or amusing. One year, there was a “Loch Ness Monster” installed in the Grand River; it’s now at the John Ball Zoo. Another year, there was a steampunk flying pig (you might have to think about that one) in the parking lot of one of the city’s iconic buildings. Beyond seeing these, my main reaction to ArtPrize has been to avoid downtown and its traffic even more than usual.
*****
The local bus system is a sponsor of ArtPrize, and is selling wristband bus passes for the duration of the event for $5.00. The passes are good from 18 September to 6 October.
I found out about them on the 17th, and bought mine on the 18th, the day my most recent 31-day pass expired. I will be riding the bus for the next two weeks, 18 trips, for about 28¢ each.
On 7 October, I will pull my unused 31-day pass out of my wallet and use it for the first time. It will expire on 7 November, one day short of the last day of my course at GRCC.
*****
I don’t see how anyone could view this as mere coincidence. I have to believe that it is the Lord God’s timing and provision. To have the ArtPrize pass available the day my 31-day pass expired, and to have it expire 31 (OK, 32) days before the end of the course?
In the verse at the head of this, God (through Paul) tells us that God will supply all our needs. Not our wants; He doesn’t promise to make us wealthy (certain “Christian” writers and speakers notwithstanding), or even to provide in a way that we might prefer (a Lincoln Town Car and a fella-with-umbrella to drive me to school and back, for instance).
For His own reasons, God wants me to go to this school, and has provided the most economical means to do it, and has done so in a way that almost shouts “here I am; I am watching over you.”
What is my responsibility?
• To do my best in the course;
• To use the knowledge for His glory, and to provide for me and mine by my honest labor;
• And to tell others, by such means as I find, about His provision, for their edification and encouragement.
This message is for that last purpose.
To my unbelieving friends:
There are three possibilities.
• I am lucky—just lucky enough to score bus tickets, but not lucky enough not to need them in the first place, or
• I’m telling lies to advance a theological agenda, or
• I believe this is God at work in my life, and wish you did too.
If you know me well enough, you know which of these is true.
May the Lord bless your search for the truth in your life.
My Alma Mater, Cornerstone U. in Grand Rapids, has the 2011 Artprize winner on long term loan. It is a 400 pound glass mosaic called redemption. 9X13 feet.
I am amazed at all the coincidences that occur when following God. Sometimes I catch myself thinking they might be some plan in action.
“In the verse at the head of this, God (through Paul) tells us that God will supply all our needs. Not our wants...”
That is the hardest thing for mankind to realize, God will provide your daily needs, NOT WANTS. I think tons of people anxious about retirement are concerned about their wants, not really their needs. God will provide those but they want as you said, “the town car” etc. etc.
God is good. My Savior and Defender because He said so.
Where would I be without the Grace and mercy of God?
God is amazing and He even seems to have a rye sense of humor. His timing is impeccable and on so many occasions has caught me off guard as I dutifully went along working hard thinking I could get something accomplished without Him. Even after I had surrendered completely and began to include Him in every act of the tiniest effort I could find myself distracted by the din of this crazy world, only in his loving Mercy, I would see His guiding hand again in action. It leaves me scratching my head, why does He love me so much?
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