Have you ever felt like God is running late in responding to your financial challenges? Read this Watchman Nee's Testimony on how God miraculously met his need in a dire situation to boost your Faith this week.
I pray you share your Testimony on this blog soon after you read this powerful testimony.
In 1923 Brother Weigh Kwang-hsi invited me to preach in Kien-ou in
the north of Fukien province. I had only about fifteen dollars in my
pocket, one-third of the traveling expenses. I decided to leave on
Friday evening and continued my prayer on Wednesday and Thursday. The
money, however, did not come in. I prayed again Friday morning. Not only
was no money forthcoming, but also I had a feeling within that I should
give five dollars to a certain co-worker. I recalled the Lord's words:
"Give, and it will be given to you." I had not been a money lover, but
on that day I really loved money and found it extremely difficult to
give. I prayed to the Lord again, "O Lord, if You really want me to give
away five dollars, I will," but I was still rather unwilling inwardly. I
was deceived by Satan into thinking that after praying I would not have
to give away the five dollars. That was the only time in my life that I
shed tears over money. Eventually, I obeyed the Lord and gave the five
dollars to that co-worker. After the money was given, I was filled with
heavenly joy. When the co-worker asked why I gave him the money, I said,
"You need not ask; you will know later."
Friday evening I prepared to begin my journey. I said to God,
"Fifteen dollars was already insufficient, and You wanted me to give
away five dollars. Won't the sum be even more inadequate? Now I don't
know how to pray." I made up my mind to go first to Shui-kow by steamer
and then to Kien-ou by a small wooden boat. I spent only a little for
the journey to Shui-kow. As the steamer was about to arrive, I felt that
if I would not pray according to my own concept, the result would be
much better. So I said to the Lord, "I do not know how to pray; please
do it for me." I added, "If You will not give me the money, please
provide a boat for me with a little fare." When I arrived in Shui-kow,
many boatmen came to solicit business. One asked only seven dollars for
my passage. This price was beyond expectation; the usual fare was
several times more. I asked the boatman why his price was so low, and he
replied, "This boat is hired by the magistrate, but I am allowed to
take one passenger only for the space at the stern, so I do not care how
much the fare is. But you have to provide your own food." Originally, I
had fifteen dollars in my pocket. After giving five dollars to a
co-worker and spending a few dimes for the journey by steamer, seven
dollars for the small wooden boat, and a dollar or so for food, there
was still a dollar thirty left when I reached Kien-ou. Thank the Lord!
Praise Him that His ordering is always good.
After I completed my work at Kien-ou and was ready to return
to Foochow, the problem arose again: I did not have sufficient funds for
traveling expenses to return. I had decided to leave on the following
Monday, so I continued praying until Saturday. This time I had a feeling
of certainty in my heart, recalling that before I left Foochow, God had
asked me to give five dollars to a co-worker, which I then begrudged
giving. At that time I read Luke 6:38: "Give, and it will be given to
you, and I laid hold of this sentence. I said to God, "Since You have
said this, I beseech You to provide me with the necessary money for
traveling expenses according to Your promise."
On Sunday evening a British pastor, Mr. Philips, a true
brother, assuredly saved and loving the Lord, asked Brother Weigh and me
to dinner. At dinner Mr. Philips told me that he and his church had
received great help through my messages, and they offered to be
responsible for my traveling expenses both ways. I replied that there
was already someone who had accepted this responsibility, meaning God.
Then he said, "When you get back to Foochow, I will give you The Dynamics of Service
written by Mr. Padgett Wilkes, a gospel messenger greatly used by the
Lord in Japan." I soon felt that I had missed a great opportunity; what I
needed then was money for traveling expenses, not a book. I somewhat
regretted that I had not accepted his offer. After dinner Brother Weigh
and I returned home together. I had refused Mr. Philips's offer for my
traveling expenses so that I might look solely to God for help;
nevertheless, there was joy and peace in my heart. Brother Weigh was
unaware of my financial situation. I had a slight thought of borrowing
money from him for my expenses and then reimbursing him when I returned
to Foochow, but God would not allow me to divulge this matter to him. I
was under full conviction that God in heaven is forever dependable, and I
wished to see how He was going to provide for me.
When I left the following day, I had only a few dollars in my
pocket. Many brothers and sisters came to see me off, and some carried
my luggage. While walking I prayed, "Lord, surely You wouldn't bring me
here without taking me back." Halfway to the wharf, Mr. Philips sent
someone with a letter. The letter read, "Though someone else has assumed
the responsibility for your traveling expenses, I feel that I should
have a share in your work here. Would it be possible for me, an aged
brother, to have such a share? Please be good enough to accept this
small sum for this purpose." After reading the letter, I felt I should
accept the money, and I did. It was not only sufficient for my return
expenses to Foochow, but also for printing one issue of The Present Testimony.
Upon my return to Foochow, the wife of the co-worker who
received the five dollars said to me, "I have the feeling that when you
left you did not have enough money yourself. Why did you suddenly give
five dollars to my husband?" I then asked her what had occurred in
connection with the five dollars, and she replied, "We had only one
dollar left in the house on Wednesday, and that had been spent by
Friday. On Friday we prayed all day. Afterwards my husband felt that he
should go for a walk, and then he met you, and you gave him five
dollars. The five dollars lasted us through five days; then God provided
for us from another source." At this point she continued with tears,
"If you had not given us the five dollars on that day, we would have
suffered hunger. It does not matter that we suffer hunger, but what
about God's promise?" Her testimony filled me with joy. The Lord had
worked through me to supply their need with the five dollars. The Word
of the Lord is indeed faithful: "Give, and it will be given to you."
This is the lesson I have learned in my life. I have now
experienced that the less money I have in my hand, the more God will
give. This is a difficult path to follow. Many people may feel that they
are able to live the life of faith; but when the trial comes, they are
in fear. Unless you can believe in the real and living God, I do not
advise you to take this path. I can bear testimony today that God is the
One who gives. To be sustained by means of ravens as Elijah was at his
time is still possible today. I am going to mention something to you
which you may find difficult to believe. It has been my experience that
God's supply arrives when I have spent my last dollar. I have had
fourteen years of experience. In each experience God wanted to get the
glory for Himself. God has supplied all my needs and has not failed me
once. Those who used to give do not do so now. There is a constant
change of offerers; one lot of people replaces another. All this does
not matter, for God in the highest is a living God. He never changes! I
say this today for your benefit. I must say this that you may go
straight forward in the path of living a life of faith. There are ten to
twenty more cases like these that I have already related to you.
Concerning the matter of offering the Lord money, one ought
to set aside a definite amount—a tithe of your income or half of your
income—and put it in the hand of God. From her natural being, the widow
who gave two half-farthings might have grudged doing so, but she was
praised by the Lord. We have to be an example for others; we need not
fear, for God will not fail. We should learn to love God, to believe
Him, and to serve Him as is His due. We ought to thank Him and praise
Him because of His unspeakable grace! Amen.
(These testimonies were compiled in a book entitled Watchman Nee's Testimony by Brother Kwang-hsi Weigh and initially published in 1974)
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