Testimonies of God's Awesomeness

More Than a Wheel...

(The rest of His story!)

Have you ever wished for something for a long time, then when you

got it, you found out that you didn't really want it at all? For years

my dream was to live on a mountain side in Northern Arizona overlooking

the Mogollon Rim. Well, there I was, sitting out on the deck of our new

home in Payson, Arizona, gazing over the breathtaking view: my dream

fulfilled--my emotions mixed. I was supposed to be exceedingly happy,

but I wasn't. Something was missing--it was that overwhelming presence

of the Lord. Oh, we weren't out of His will, we were just not in His perfect

will, and I could sense it.

As I began reading in the Bible, the following verses seemed to have our

names written all over them:

Matt. 19:21 LB (Emphasis mine)

"..if you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have and

give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven;

and come, follow me."

Mark1:17

"Come, follow me! And I will make you fishers of men."

We decided to "test" what I thought the Lord was saying to us by

putting a "few" things up for sale...just things that we really didn't need

or want any longer. Within three days every item in our home was sold.

One buyer went away and told someone else that we were having a sale...

and buyers came by the droves. They would ask, "Is that couch for sale,

or that refrigerator, or the washer and dryer?" We would look at each

other and reply, " Well, I guess so." And then we quoted the new price we

had paid, and they bought it! The last person that came wanted to buy

the bedroom sets...all three of them, but they didn't want to take them

for several weeks. We knew that we had several weeks to sell the house,

pack and get ready to become "fishers of men." A church had asked us

to come to East Texas to do a Kids' Crusade, so we decided to "follow

Him" and accepted.

Within a few weeks we had purchased a fifth wheel travel trailer, had

literally used up and given away all of our money except for $100, and

had joyfully left Phoenix for Tyler, Texas. Wouldn't you think that, having

been so obedient, that we'd not have a test or trial for months to come?

Our first test after leaving Phoenix came about an hour later! Jesus was

tempted by the devil right after He had victoriously fasted for forty days...

and our first test followed IMMEDIATELY after submitting to His perfect will.

We had stopped for gasoline when our daughter asked, "Dad, what did

you do with the tire and wheel off of the back of the trailer?" The what!!?

Off of the where!!? It was gone...we had been pulling the trailer with only

three wheels instead of the normal four. But where did it go, and when?

We decided to go on into Tucson, park the fifth wheel and backtrack to

see if we couldn't find it lying along the side of the freeway. We drove

back towards Phoenix nearly seventy miles, but didn't find the wheel.

What should we do? If we bought another tire and wheel we wouldn't

have the gas money to get to Tyler, but we couldn't travel with a missing

wheel. So Steve decided that we would find an overnight recreational

vehicle parking place, and if God didn't do something by morning, we would

go back to Phoenix, admit that we didn't hear from God at all, find a job,

and forget about "following Him." We weren't familiar with Tucson and

were lost, to make matters worse!

There we went, pulling this gigantic forty foot long fifth wheel trailer

down a side street in Tucson, trying to wind our way across town to the

nearest parking spot...each time there was a dip in the road the trailer

would drag and sparks would fly. Everyone sure saw us coming! At a

four-way stop, a man in a pickup truck going in the opposite direction

gestured for us to roll down the window...he yelled out, "Where’s yer tire

and wheel?" Steve mumbled something like, "If I knew, I’d put in on." The

man motioned for us to pull over.

He turned around and followed us and when we stopped he jumped out of

his truck and looked at the rear of the trailer. "Where’d 'ya loose 'yer

tire 'n wheel?" was his next super intelligent question. "Don't know!" Steve

replied. "We went back up the freeway looking for it...about sixty-five miles

or so, but didn't see it." With a twinkle in his eye, the man said, "Should

have gone seventy miles to Picacho Peak...I found it there in the median on

my way over from Sacramento this afternoon. It's in my sister's garage

here in Tucson. Jump in the truck and we'll go get it." His sister got out

and stayed with me and my daughter.

I began telling her how we were Child Evangelists, and how we had made a

decision to follow Jesus before all of this had happened. I told her about

selling all of our possessions and only having enough money to get to

Tyler. She stopped me, took hold of my hands and began to gently cry.

She said, "But you don't know the rest of the story. We had already

eaten dinner and I got this craving for a special pizza from a place all the

way over here across town. That's where we were headed when we saw

you." She continued to say that there was no way that they could have

met us coincidentally, that the Lord had to have arranged it. I had no

problem believing that, but it seemed like a real revelation to her.

She continued sharing. She said, "My daddy was a minister and I

rebelled as a teenager. I quit believing in God altogether and have been

doing my own thing ever since. My daddy passed away, and then my

mother died a few weeks ago. Her last prayer was, 'God please show my

daughter that you are real.' God just did that by what He did for you....

there is just no way that this could have happened unless He arranged it.

I know what I need to do. Will you pray with me so I can give my heart to

the Lord?"

We stood in that parking lot somewhere in Tucson, Arizona, praying,

hugging and crying and thanking God for the miracle that He had just

performed. No, not the miracle of giving us back our, fortunately lost,

tire and wheel, but allowing us to be a part of His first conversion after

we decided to "follow Jesus and become fishers of men."

The hubcap was still on the wheel and the nuts and bolts were inside.

After replacing the wheel, we continued on toward Texas, and arrived

at our first Kids' Crusade about fifteen minutes before we were

scheduled to begin...and, we haven't stopped following Him since then!

Joyously under His reign,

and continually being rained upon with His love and care,

Marlene JuHaros

RGodReigns@prayervine.org

The following Psalm tells us that our God reigns over the earth;

over ALL, both the good as well as the evil. When He is the Lord of

our life, He rules and reigns over every situation...the blessings, as

well as the frightening experiences. His desire is to rain down His

blessings upon those that allow Him to reign over their life. This

series is about the testimonies that resulted when we trusted His

word and allowed Him to reign over some unexpected situations

that flooded into our lives. May His name be lifted up.

Psalm 93

THE Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;

The Lord is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength.

Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.

Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.

The floods have lifted up, O Lord,

The floods have lifted up their voice;

The floods lift up their waves.

The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters,

Than the mighty waves of the sea.

Your testimonies are very sure;

Holiness adorns Your house, O Lord, forever.

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