http://biblehub.com/kjv/isaiah/55.htm
“1Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.”
It was my son’s day off and so we decided to visit the Hatch Chili Festival and explore a bit of the New Mexican desert where we had moved earlier in the summer. Hatch is the chili capital of America, and is located in Dona Ana County about 40 miles from where we live in Sierra County, NM. On our drive, we passed acres and acres of chili pepper fields ripening for the harvest, of massive fields of corn that provide the demand for tortillas for New Mexico residents, and also lush groves of pecan trees, all fed and nourished by the Rio Grande river.
http://www.hatchchilefest.com/
Upon our arrival in Hatch, the main street was lined with gaudy little road side stands selling everything from pottery to strings of peppers and other tourist items. To be sure, we did our share of gandering; but speed limit signs were pretty much obscured by the mulitude of colorful…and distracting road side stands. Wouldn’t you know, as “fate” would have it, we got pulled over by a highway patrol officer just as we neared the edge of town, who said we were 10 miles over the limit. You don’t debate with a New Mexico highway patrolman. We were busted. My son was driving so he was the one who, unfortunately got the ticket, $70. Ouch! We debated about driving all the way to Los Cruces to pay the ticket but decided to mail the required money order instead, which my son did.
Months passed, and we assumed the court had received the money order and went on about our business, giving it no more thought. Then several days ago, my son had taken a friend home who’s car had broken down. The guys home was unfortunately 70 miles away. There is no such thing as short distances between towns here in the NM desert. Well, I am one of those people who don’t believe anything happens by “accident”; that there is always a reason. Usually, when something just “happens” it’s by design, one way or another. In this case, the “non-accident” was that my son got pulled over and arrested and taken to the local detention center, (a politically correct term for jail). It seems there had been a warrant out for his arrest due to the citation that was paid by money order, but that the court had never received. So, off to jail he went.
In the meantime that night, I’m wondering where my son was, since he didn’t show up that night. By the next day I was getting a bit concerned, but then came the phone call. It was my son calling from jail, 70 some miles away. By this time, he was being told that he not only “owed” the court the cost of the citation but now he was being charged with failure to appear. He told me it was going to cost almost $200 cash to get him out of jail, and he had money coming, but he had very little cash on him. And….neither did I!
Now, a local friend of his said she would try to get the money together but that we would have to go there the next day with a money order in order to bail him out. So, I thought at the time that would be OK if she was willing to and could arrange for it, but again, as “fate” would have it, that was not to be, and she was unable to put together enough to pay his way out of jail. “Money answers all things”, doesn’t it? Well, it may when you have it but what about when you don’t? And she didn’t……. and neither did I.
There was nothing I could do that night but leave him there, and starting to pray! And pray I did. “Lord, my son’s friend offered and was willing to lend him the money to get out of jail but she tried and couldn’t, so now what? Lord, I have no money, what am I going to do? Lord, I’m not going to ask anyone for the money. You know I don’t really don’t believe in that anyway, and have believed in trusting You to meet all my needs and You’ve been faithful to do that all these years, and in the most amazing and miraculous ways. But what about this? I don’t have the money I need to get my son out of jail. But Lord, why do I have to have money anyway? Didn’t You meet George Mueller’s needs for money when he didn’t have anything but faith to believe that You’d provide? And he built huge orphanages in the power of prayer and faith in You? And haven’t You provided Christopher Gregory with every financial means to go to China to preach the gospel when he was flat broke?” http://thepropheticnews.com/2015/02/22/china-journal-a-time-of-dreams-and-visions-miracles-and-old-bibles/. Lord, I am so dull of hearing…why didn’t I just step out and believe You in the first place that You’d provide for meeting this need. Please forgive me Lord. I repent of doubting even for an instant.”
“Well, OK then Lord Jesus, since You are God, and nothing is impossible to You, and for sure I can’t do a single thing in this situation to get my son out of jail, then I’m just going to believe that You will provide a way where there seems to be no way, and not only that, but that You will go before me to prepare the way. That your angels are ministering spirits who are sent to minister for the heirs of salvation of which I am one. And I am praising You for not only this blessing but for Who You Are, the Almighty All Powerful God”. And so…I went off to sleep for a few hours.
Next morning, the first thing that came to me when I woke up were the words, “Without money and without price”. I knew this was the Holy Spirit speaking to me, as this has often been the way He speaks to me, through various ways and impartations. Sometimes a song, or His Still Small Voice, or a portion of scripture as a confirmation.
So, after coffee, and as soon as the Dona Ana county offices opened for business, I felt led to call the Magistrate Court from where the orginal bench warrant was issued. I was able to talk to a young woman and explained the situation to her and asked her if there was anything she could do. She was very kind and seemingly interested and concerned. She replied that she would call the Detention Center and talk to them, and would call me back later. So, I prayed some more and believed some more, and later learned, thanks to her call and Lord Jesus, that it had been arranged that my son would appear before the judge at 1:15 pm that day. More prayer, praising and believing for favor with the judge, as I waited. (God is well able to talk to judges). 🙂 By 2:00pm, I learned that the judge had released my son, ,(thank you Lord Jesus), and by later that evening he was back with me, and we were celebrating with a spagetti dinner, both of us thanking and praising the Lord for His provision, mercy, and goodness.
Sometimes we don’t get to “choose our battles”, because sometimes the Lord chooses them for us. I don’t always know why things happen the way they do, but in this case, I think it was to build my son’s faith that the Lord is well able to meet his needs and take care of him in any situation and that it doesn’t always take money to do it. After all, He is God, and there is nothing and I mean nothing, that’s too hard for Him. This is the same, the One and Only Creator of the Universe, the earth and everything in it, The God of Creation watching over billions of the earths inhabitants, knowing the thoughts of each one from the time they get up in the moring until they go to bed at night. And orchestrating every single movement of the planets and galaxies, and anything else he chooses. and yet many people have not learned to trust Him to be able to meet their needs? Let me assure you, if they, (and I’m including His own children here)…will learn to just trust the Lord at His Word, He will meet every need and fulfill His Word to them just like He said He would in the Holy Scriptiures. Amen! Thank you Lord Jesus!
As for me, I’m humbled that He even takes notice of me,or my needs…. and I am ashamed that I didn’t instantly respond by faith when this all began. I’m going to keep working on that as it will spare me a lot of grief in the long run and avoid any agonizing about any situation. We are told not to worry about anything. After all, worry is a sin, and God can’t respond to worry because it’s Faith that moves the hand of God. The Lord will honor His Word as we respond to Him by Faith. That’s the way it works. In some cases, “without money and without price”.
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