For us, the way out was to give!
In April of 2014 my wife and her brother received 2 modest properties as an inheritance. Both properties were placed on the market to sell the same month, but more than a year later neither had sold and they were costing us a lot of money in repairs, insurance, taxes, utilities, etc...
One of the properties was located in an area where the real estate market was so depressed that properties had been up for sale for 5-7 years with no offers! And, the few properties that had sold in a lesser period of time were still on the market 1-3 years and were selling for half their true market value, or less. After more than a year with no offers, we were getting concerned we may be facing the same fate as others in the area - be stuck paying for the properties for years, or be forced to sell at a grossly under valued price, turning what was intended to be a modest inheritance for my wife, into a financial burden. So, I reasoned that if my wife's relative intended this as a blessing to her, how much more did her Heavenly Father intend the same?
In addition to this issue, we were facing several other large financial expenses and everything seemed to be due at once! So, we began to pray more diligently. One day while making a long drive alone, I began praying in the car about our situation and asked God specifically if we had missed something, or, if He had a "strategy" to resolve our problem? To my surprise I felt like I got a response from God rather quickly ..."why don't you give your way out?" was His answer! "Give" our way out?! Seriously? Wow, that has to be God because I don't think like that! Not to mention it seems a little counter productive when you are already facing a financial burden! But, I knew it was God so I said "O.k. Lord. How much do you want me to give?" And immediately I heard an amount in my heart. Again, the amount was a real stretch for me, but I was confident it had to be the Lord.
Within a few days of this conversation with God He led us to the recipient of the gift, someone who was planning a mission trip and needed the exact amount God had placed on my heart to give! Within a week of giving the money, my wife was contacted and she had contracts on BOTH properties! As if that weren't cause enough for celebration, the property located in the severely depressed market received an offer for FULL asking price! Something that hasn't happened for almost any other sellers in the area!
As of this writing, both properties have closed.
The saying has become almost cliché, but we are a living testimony that "you can't out give God"! For us, the way out was to give!
Danny N.
