In the spring of 1980, when God was leading us to leave the pastorate and begin a walk of faith, He gave us some Scripture verses to hold on to. Ezra 6:9 is one of those verses.  We clung to it in those early years as if it were a life preserver.  We still hold tightly to it these many years later.

    We understood the context out of which the promise was made to Ezra and his people.  They felt led to serve God in a particular way, but they didn’t have the resources to do so.  God provided for them by causing the king to make a decree that everything they needed for that purpose was to be provided for them “day by day without fail.”

    We felt a peculiar kinship with Ezra.  We too felt led to serve God in a way we had never served before.  We too were totally lacking in the resources to do what we felt God wanted us to do. As we prayed and searched, we felt God was speaking to us specifically out of this verse, promising that He would provide what we needed.  That promise helped us to take the step of faith required to resign the pastorate and move to Houston with no job, no guarantees, no specific leadership, and very little money.

    Right away God began to provide for us.  Those were some of the most exciting days we had experienced in many years, as we sensed His leadership and tried to follow.  We needed a house to live in.  God provided THE house He had chosen.  We needed ministry.  God provided it in abundance.  We needed money.  And God provided that too.  When I go back over my journal for those days, my faith is always strengthened.

    But as time went on, while God continued to provide for us in varied ways, I became increasingly conscious of the part of that verse which says, “that which they have need of.”  I began to see that God was not only promising to take care of us, but that He was promising to do a work in our lives.  And as I saw this, “that which they have need of” began to mean a different thing to me.

    God began to show me that sometimes the thing I needed involved hardship or suffering or financial reverses or loneliness.  Such things were needed so God could develop faith, hope and love.  Such things were needed if we were to understand the people God wanted us to minister to.  I often quoted the verse, but now I began to wonder what God might consider needful in this phase of our journey.

    As I look back over these years I see how God has kept His promise “without fail.”  And I am grateful.  As I look to the future, I believe He will continue to provide what we need “without fail.”  And I am content.  For