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4 Reasons to Believe God Will Provide
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June 20, 2022
Thirty-three years ago, Vicki Webb got in a car accident in front of Woodlawn Church, which we now know as Woodside Bible Church of Royal Oak. For years following the accident, she avoided that street for the painful memories it carried.
At the time, Vicki was in her 30s and deep into a 13-year relationship she characterized as “sex, drugs, and rock and roll.” For years, she’d sought a way to escape the toxic relationship, but having grown up in a home marked by verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, she found herself trapped in what seemed an unbreakable pattern.
Two months before their wedding date, with nowhere else to turn, Vicki did something desperate. “I walked into St. Veronica’s church in East Detroit, went face down in front of the crucifix, and said,
Only you can take this from me, God.
Within a month, her fiancé marched into their apartment and announced he wouldn’t marry her, seeing as he was in love with someone else.
That was miracle #1.
Vicki describes the season that followed as one of “searching.” It was in this season that, on a particular Saturday morning, she found herself running dreadfully late for work. Desperate to make up the time, she had no choice but to take Rochester Road, which meant passing the very spot where her accident had occurred all those years before.
Despite her hurry, she couldn’t help but notice the sign in front of the church. Something about it caught her eye. It featured a verse from the Bible that struck her in an unexpected way. She looked away and kept driving but couldn’t shake it. All day long it stuck with her, echoing in her mind.
So significantly did that verse affect her that she walked through the doors of that church the very next morning.
And we have miracle #2.
Vicki spent the next three years doing business with God over a lifetime’s supply of anger and resentment. Why had she been allowed to suffer this way? How could God claim to love her after everything He let happen?
But then something miraculous happened (for the 3rd time, if you’re keeping track). God gently and patiently opened Vicki’s eyes to the profound mystery of the Gospel until the love He had displayed on the cross became an undeniable reality in her life. It was then she resolved that the love God proved for her meant He needed to be the One in charge of her life now. Vicki received salvation in Christ and boldly professed her faith to our church family in baptism.
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And we still have one more miracle to go.
After several years at Woodlawn, Vicki joined the church’s camping group. On her first trip, she met the widower, who is now her husband of more than 20 years. But there’s more to miracle #4 than that.
Years prior, the pastor had shared a prayer request for a young wife and mother with brain cancer. The request bore heavy on Vicki’s heart; month after month, she took to her knees in faithful prayer for this woman, her husband, and her children. After much fervent prayer, she ultimately learned the woman had been taken home to the Lord.
This was the last she heard of the young woman until a year into marriage, she discovered that the husband and children she had so fervently prayed for had become her own.
Voilà, our 4th miracle.
If a single word were used to sum up Vicki’s story, it could be none other than providence, which the dictionary defines as “the foreseeing care and guidance of God over the creatures of the earth.”
The fingerprints of God are undeniable in her life. And the same is true for yours and mine, whether we can see them now or not.
As Vicki looks back, she reflects, “God works in the craziest ways. I see Him in every aspect of my life.” Vicki has learned through both sorrows and celebrations that God was and is always there. She’s experienced the freedom that comes from trusting Him and seeking His plan and provision over her own.
“Looking back now, I can see the times when His hands were in it, but I slapped His hand away and did it myself — and the hurt that led to. I’ve learned that when you ask Him for help, you have to be willing to accept whatever it is He does for you. Because He knows better. You don’t know where He’s going to lead you, but you can trust Him. He knows how to take care of you, even if you don’t.”
May Vicki’s story remind all of us of the One who is providentially working every day of our lives. He’s not only sovereign but utterly good. He loves you, He provides for your every need, and He’s calling you today to trust Him, seek Him, and to follow where He leads.
