Let this testimony encourage you to know that God will meet your needs when you care for the needy.

I was delighted to reconnect with a close friend, Dale, who told me an amazing story of God’s provision.

Dale and his wife sold their Atlanta home and moved to Washington, D.C. just before the housing market fell apart. They purchased a home in D.C. and began to invest a great deal of effort in serving the needy in their community. Later, he began to feel uncomfortable because of the size of the home and its mortgage. He knelt by his bed and cried out to the Lord to enable them to sell the home.

The next day there was a knock at the door. The man at the door told Dale that he liked the looks of the home and that he wanted to buy it. When told the purchase price, he immediately agreed. Think about this! There was no For Sale sign. It wasn’t listed with a real estate broker. He buyer didn’t even ask to see the inside of the home! But he bought it for cash with no contingencies. No question about it—God alone brought this buyer in this challenging market!

Dale and I were weeping because of the kind faithfulness of Jesus Christ. When I asked Dale why he thought the Lord had acted so quickly, he didn’t hesitate in saying, “Oh, it’s because of Isaiah 58. God honors those who care in practical ways for the needy.”

Read this slowly. Let the words of this passage sink deeply into your heart. “Is this not the fast which I choose . . . divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?  Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.  Then you will call and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ . . . give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail” (Isaiah 58:6-11).

Would you like to experience this promise: “Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.  Then you will call and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ . . . your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”