And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19 NIV)

God opened the doors to proclaim the gospel of Christ throughout Egypt during November 2000. It was one of the greatest opportunities of ministry I've ever had granted me. Excitement filled my heart as we prayed and prepared for the meetings. There was a deep sense that God was going to do something wonderful in Egypt.

My wife and I were sitting on a bus the first day of the congress waiting to be transported to our hotel. Two of the Egyptian leaders boarded the bus and sat right in front of us. I couldn't believe it. These were the men who were coordinating the meetings in Egypt, and we were on the same bus headed to the same hotel. It was obviously a divine appointment.

We spent the next few nights talking and making further plans for the evangelistic efforts in Egypt. Our hearts were on fire with a vision to reach all of Egypt with the message of God's love found in Christ. But every time they suggested some new avenue of reaching people, it came with a price tag. In simple terms, that meant we needed thousands of more dollars. But there was only one problem - we didn't have any more money.

I had to make a decision. Should I tell the Egyptian brothers that we couldn't do what we were dreaming, or should I step out in faith and trust God to provide the money? After much thought and prayer, I determined that God had given us this opportunity. He had put us together in that hotel. It was His dream and not ours. Therefore, I concluded that we could trust Him to provide the necessary money.

When I came back to my office, I shared the new commitments I'd made to the Egyptian leaders. I found myself struggling with my decision as I shared with our team. I knew that it was impossible for me to come up with such a large amount of money in such a short time.

But that was exactly the position God wanted me to be in. He wanted me to abide in a position of absolute helplessness. He would do what I was totally incapable of doing. He would call me to do something and then show me I had no ability to accomplish that to which He had called me. I would come to know Him as Jehovah Jireh - God, my provider. Less than a month before our travel to Egypt, God provided the money we needed in a completely unexpected manner. It resulted in His kingdom coming and His will being done in thousands of Egyptian lives. Many thousands of Egyptians invited Christ to be their Savior and Lord.

Thousands of years ago God first revealed Himself as Jehovah Jireh. He made himself known to Abraham as God, his provider. When he was 99 years old, God told Abraham He would give him a son. God was true to his promise. In his old age, God provided a child to Abraham and Sarah. But God wanted Abraham to know Him even more intimately. So, God tested Abraham. He told him to sacrifice that son he loved so greatly. One can almost feel the pain and confusion Abraham must have experienced. His heart ached, but he was faithful to God. He determined he would use Isaac as a sacrifice.

Just at the right moment, God told Abraham, "No." God provided the sacrifice - a lamb. Can you imagine the joy that the old man must have felt in that instant? I can see him weeping and laughing at the same time over God's provision. God called Abraham to do the impossible - sacrifice his own son. Then God made the provision for the sacrifice. Consequently, the Bible says` "Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh" (Gen. 22:14 KJV).

Has God called you to do the impossible? If so, His call may be deeper than you think. He may be calling you to get to know Him - as Jehovah Jireh.