Two Taxis and the Holy Spirit

by Crystal Bowman

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NIV.

I was beyond excited to attend the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA) conference this year. I was unable to attend for the past two years, so this was a long-awaited trip. My early morning flight was delayed, but I made my connection. When I landed in St. Louis, I saw two AWSA gals and we agreed to share a cab. My friends pulled their luggage from the carousel while I waited for mine to appear. But it didn’t. As the noisy carousel made a few more laps with some unclaimed bags, it still hadn’t appeared.

 I told my friends to leave, and I’d catch up with them later. The hotel and convention center were not far from the airport, so it wouldn’t cost much for a solo ride. After an hour, my suitcase showed up, and I rolled my luggage to the nearest taxicab. When a kind man jumped out to assist with my cumbersome bags, I told him where I needed to go, and soon we were on our way. Though hard to understand, the driver initiated a wonderful conversation about God. I smiled and nodded in agreement. The ride took longer than expected, but we finally arrived at the hotel and convention center. After paying a hefty fare and generous tip, I rolled my bags to the reception counter in the lobby.

“My name is Crystal Bowman and I’m here to check in,” I said with a tired smile. The hotel clerk scanned the computer for my name but couldn’t find it. “I’m so sorry, Dear, but you’re at the wrong hotel. You need to be at our hotel near the airport. I’ll call a cab.” My heart caught in my throat. I was weary from traveling, had just spent more money than I wanted to, and I was in the wrong place!           

 The next taxi arrived, and a kind gentleman jumped out to help with my bags. As soon as we were on the expressway, he began a wonderful conversation about God. I smiled and nodded in agreement. After a thirty-minute ride, we arrived at the correct hotel. I paid an even heftier fare and another tip. Since this was way more money than I intended to spend on cab rides, I was terribly upset and frustrated. My heart pounded and my head hurt.

 Once inside my room, I unpacked a few things, then lay down to relax. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. Anger and frustration consumed me. Then the Holy Spirit put some thoughts into my head. (I know myself and these thoughts were not my thoughts): These cab drivers belong to Me. They need the money more than you do. They haven’t worked in more than a year, so I used you to provide for them.

When we look at Scripture, we can see how God provides in unusual ways. Hagar had to leave home with her young son, Ishmael, and they soon ran out of water. In her hopelessness, she placed Ishmael under a bush to die. But God heard cries and provided a well in the middle of the wilderness. When the Israelites were hungry in the desert, God rained manna from heaven in the morning and sent quail in the evening. When Elijah needed a time of rest, God directed him to a place where he could drink from a brook and sent ravens to bring him food twice a day.

 When I let those thoughts sink in, my emotions did a 180-degree turn. Peace and joy replaced anger and frustration. I was excited again—not only for the conference to begin, but because God used me to provide a little something extra for two cab drivers who loved Him.

One final thought occurred to me as I processed that experience: It’s God’s money and not mine. He provided for the cab drivers, and He will also provide for me.  

This article is brought to you by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA).

About the author: Crystal Bowman is a bestselling, award-winning author of more than 100 books including, Our Daily Bread for Kids.She and her husband have three married children and seven huggable grandchildren.

When a child’s grandparent or great-grandparent is afflicted with dementia, it’s difficult to explain the disease in a way that helps the child understand why the person they love is not the same. I Love You to the Stars–When Grandma Forgets, Love Remembers, is a picture book inspired by a true story to help young children understand that even though Grandma is acting differently, she still loves them–to the stars!

Join the conversation: Has God provided for you in unexpected ways?

Let’s Get Rich!

by Lane Jordan

The Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall mediate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, then then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8 ESV

Yep, I hope that title made you want to read what I’ve got to say! We all want to be rich even if we pretend that we don’t. I mean, if we have money, we’ll have more freedom to do what we want. If we have money, we can perhaps have everything we want. With money, we’ll get the admiration of our peers and respect and power.

But is that what God meant when he said He’d make your way prosperous?

What I have found out is that yes! God wants to make us prosperous, but I believe it’s not the way the world views prosperity.

When I became a Christian in my early twenties, I was one of those 180-degree transformations. My thoughts, my actions, and attitudes literally went the opposite way. I started to love others as I never had, especially those who were vastly different than myself.

I stopped using curse words. I started understanding the moral compass God wanted us to have. And best of all?

I became so full of joy, love, and peace that I couldn’t stop smiling. Even many years later, I find myself thanking God daily for this indescribable gift of great peace and joy I still have. But even more.

During Covid, I prayed for people, for our country, and for the world. But I wasn’t afraid. I knew Who had planned my life and when my time was to leave it. This is literally a God thing because my natural tendency is to worry. But God has poured out His riches onto me by putting His Holy Spirit inside me that gives me it’s fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22).

And these are great riches! Think about it. When we ask Jesus to come into our lives, He sends His Spirit to then guide us and help us in our walk with Jesus. And He gives us these intangible gifts that the world cannot understand.

I know I’m richer than many of the billionaires we hear about in the news. They may have lots of money and property and things, but most of their marriages are over, and they don’t seem to be happy. They are under great stress just in dealing with all this wealth.

But the riches God has given me – the fruits of the Spirit, a strong marriage, sweet relationships with my children and grandchildren, friendships, contentment, and deep abiding joy – cannot be found apart from my relationship with my precious God, His Son, and His Holy Spirit.

Do you want to be rich? Then call on the name of Jesus to come and live with you. He says that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is our Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9-10). That’s it! From that point on you will have the type of riches that can never be bought. And trust me, His Joy is worth everything.

This article is brought to you by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA).

About the author: Lane P. Jordan is a best-selling author, national speaker, Life Coach, Bible teacher, and artist. She publishes both fiction and nonfiction, and her writing can be found in magazines and her blog. She is the author of the 12 Steps Organizing books, and her first novel, Evangeline, will be released fall of 2021 as well as her newest children’s books. You can find Lane at:www.LaneJordanMinistries.com and her blog at:www.PathwaysToOrganization.com

Join the conversation: What prosperity has the Lord given you?