God has this amazing knack of knocking our socks off with His blessings, while also teaching us invaluable lessons in faith at the same time.
One of my favorite examples of this in my own life is the story of our honeymoon. We took one small step of faith and God delivered an amazing surprise.
Not the trip we’d hoped for…
We became engaged in the middle of the recession of 2008. My husband’s job is largely commission based and his salary had been drastically affected by the changing economy.
We are planted smack dab in the middle of the United States and dreamed of an exotic beach vacation. With our finances suddenly limited, we tried to accept the idea we might need to settle for a closer and more affordable destination.
Trying to make sense of it all…
As we mulled over our options, we both felt an unexplained urging to get our passports. We couldn’t rationalize it because there was no way we could afford any kind of trip that would take us out of the country!
On top of that, getting our passports would cost around $200. At the time, that was a large amount of money for us and we had multiple other expenses needing our attention.
However, we couldn’t shake that internal tugging to go ahead with the applications, so we decided to pray about the idea. Soon after we sat down together and talked to God about the whole thing, the answer was clear.
You know when you have that knowing it’s the right thing to do, even when it doesn’t make a lick of sense? So, we agreed to get our passports that weekend.
Read my resource, “11 Powerful Verses About Walking in Faith“ for inspiration to trust God in every situation.
The surprise of a lifetime…
The very next morning my husband was contacted by a wealthy business acquaintance. He’d heard about our upcoming marriage and wanted to know where we were going on our honeymoon.
My husband told him we were still in the process of figuring that out. He then proceeded to say he would like for us to stay at his private, ocean-side villa in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
We would just need to provide airfare and pay for meals. He would even arrange for transportation to and from the Mexican airport.
Wait—what?!?! All of a sudden, our honeymoon had changed from a destination within driving distance of our Midwest home to LITERAL paradise thousands of miles away.
To say we were shocked, thrilled, over the moon—pretty much any word you can think of would have understated our excitement! God had truly worked a miracle in our circumstances.
A trip to paradise…
We went on that honeymoon a few months later. It is, to date, the best vacation we’ve ever had.
The villa was enormous and beautiful. The complex sported multiple, crystal clear, heated pools and an absolutely deserted, pristine beach.
We could hear the ocean waves from our bedroom window. The weather was perfect the entire time.
It was true, legitimate paradise and more than we ever could have asked or dreamed.
A step of faith that changed everything…
We love to reminisce about that story, not only because of the many wonderful memories we made that week, but also because of how God used it to teach us a valuable lesson.
A lesson He would revisit countless times throughout our marriage.
He asked us to take a step of faith and spend money on something that seemed ridiculous at the time. As SOON as we did that, He used an extremely generous and kind man to bless us beyond measure.
Would He still have provided a means for an amazing honeymoon if we had decided not to get our passports? We’ll obviously never know, but I like to think so.
God loves to give gifts to His kids.
But we would have missed the point—that trusting God without knowing what happens next can lead to life’s greatest adventures.
We would have lost the opportunity for our faith to grow exponentially.
God’s blessings revealed…
There have been numerous other times we’ve felt God calling us to make a decision that was difficult or didn’t seem to make sense. Many of those situations required significantly more sacrifice than spending a few hundred dollars!
But we’ve always tried to walk in obedience and follow His leading. Now we’ve never again been given the trip of a lifetime!
But we have seen God move in so many other ways. Almost every time, we’ve been required to take the step of faith FIRST and then watch God’s plan unfold.
Sometimes that step has been really, really hard. Most of the time the path ahead has been completely hidden.
But each time we’ve obeyed, we’ve learned to trust God more. We’ve seen Him turn the impossible into reality time and time again.
We’ve learned the cost of stepping out in faith is different in each situation. But no matter how scary, challenging, or confusing it might look, it’s always been worth it—every single time.
Do you have a “step of faith” story? Or maybe a time when you followed God even though it didn’t seem to make sense? These are some of my favorite stories! Please share in the comments below.
I love this! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Kaylene! Thanks for your encouragement!