Article Display
Email  |  My Account  |  Donate


"Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant" (Ps. 35:27).

Years ago, I attended a meeting in Arkansas with some women from my church to hear a young lady named Carolyn Savelle speak at a women's luncheon. I had heard a lot about the Savelles, and was really looking forward to hearing what she had to say.
I don't remember her topic, but I do remember a statement she made that completely changed my life and my way of thinking. She told a story about taking her girls to school and hearing a song on the radio called, "I'm a Second-hand Anna Wearing Second-hand Clothes."

Having What You Say
She said they all started singing that little tune every time they got in the car to go somewhere. One day Carolyn said suddenly, "Girls, we can't sing that song anymore. We can't say those words out of our mouths, for we will have what we say. We aren't 'second-hand Annas,' wearing second-hand clothes. We are children of the King and His blessings are ours!"

When she said that, I felt like someone had hit me in the pit of my stomach. I felt grieved inside because everything I had on had been given to me. In fact, my husband Happy and I had not bought anything for ourselves in the last two years.

Every dime went into our ministry (those of you who are in the ministry know what I am talking about). At any rate, I didn't hear another word she said. That one statement kept going over and over in my head and in my heart. I felt so heavy-hearted.

While driving home, the other women chatted about what a wonderful meeting it had been, and all I could think about were my second-hand clothes.

A Brand New Dress
When I got home, I went into our bedroom and got down on my knees beside out bed and prayed, "Father, I know that you love me as much as you love Carolyn Savelle, for the Word says that you are no respecter of persons. But Father, I'm a second-hand Anna, because I wear second-hand clothes. I don't know how on earth you will do it, but I'm asking you to give me a new dress - one with tags on it!"

It was very difficult for me to ask God for a new dress. With all the needs of the ministry, it seemed selfish of me. I didn't know that it would give Him pleasure to give me the desires of my heart and meet the needs of the ministry too. After praying, I got up and thought about it no more.

A week or so passed and Peggy Capps, also from Arkansas, called and asked if I would come and sing and share my testimony at her women's Bible study. I did, and after the meeting she gave me an offering. I was so surprised and blessed!

As I was walking to my car, she said to me, "Have you ever been to my daughter's new dress shop?" I said, "No, but I would like to some day."

She said, "Well, why don't you drop by on your way home?" I told her I would, then mumbled to myself all the way over there, thinking, "How do I get myself into these messes? I don't have the money to buy anything. I don't know how much my offering was, and I sure don't want to spend it on clothes for myself."

I got to the store and started looking at the clothes. They were so beautiful! Peggy held up a dress and said, "This looks like it would fit you. Why don't you try it on?" I did and it fit.

Then I thought, "Now how am I going to get out of buying this dress?" I walked out of the dressing room and she said, "Oh, it fits you perfectly. The Lord wants you to have it."

I said, "What do you mean?" (That was the first time anyone had ever said anything like that to me and I was not sure I understood what she meant by "have it.")

She said, "From time to time, we sow seed and give someone a dress so that our business will prosper. I want to give you this dress as seed."

I was so elated and surprised. As I was driving home the Lord said to me, "Jeanne, you have a new dress." I said, "Oh, Lord, I know it and I thank You so much. You are so faithful to Your Word!" Then he added, "…with tags on it."

A New Revelation
Since that day, I wear second-hand clothes as well as new clothes. I'm just not in bondage to either. I found out that it is God's will to bless and prosper me and give me the desires of my heart.

If you don't know that it is God's will to bless you, you will not go to Him in faith, and you will miss many of the blessings He has for you and wants to give you. Just remember the Word works for everyone who believes and stands on it.

God doesn't love me anymore than He loves you. So ask, believe, and receive - that your joy may be full!

Source: Learning to Trust God's Faithfulness by Jeanne Caldwell
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers

Author Biography

Jeanne Caldwell
Web site: Agape Church
 
Pastor Emeritus, founders and pastors of Agape Church from its founding in 1979 to 2014. Happy and Jeanne Caldwell. In 1979 God spoke to Happy & Jeanne Caldwell to build a spiritual production center in Little Rock, in order to take the good news of Jesus Christ to the city, state, nation and world. Together, they founded Agape Church, a strong spirit-filled body of believers. Through a deep sensitivity to the Spirit of God, and anointed teaching - the lost are saved, the sick healed, and thousands have been blessed. In 1988 Happy and Jeanne answered a direct call from the Lord to take His message beyond Central Arkansas. They founded VTN - the Victory Television Network. This network of 3 full power TV stations is carried on over 200 cable systems and is bringing the Gospel into more than 1.2 million households. Jeanne's ministry transcends nationality, race, culture, and generation as her passion to see women transformed into ladies who are pruned, polished, and perfected by the Word of God and her down-to-earth presentation assist others to have a personal encounter with God's Word.
Read more...

About Us

The online ministry of cfaith has been helping people discover faith, friends and freedom in the Word since 2000. Cfaith provides a unique and comprehensive collection of faith-building resources for the worldwide faith community.

At cfaith, you can strengthen your faith and deepen your understanding of the Word of God by digging into the vast collection of teaching articles, streaming audio and video messages, and daily devotionals. No other website offers such a unique and extensive collection of spiritual-growth resources aimed at helping you grow in your knowledge of the Word.

Read More...

 

 

Support Us

Why support cfaith?


(All contributions are 100% tax deductible)


SUPPORT CFAITH WITH ONE CLICK!

For every Internet search you make using
goodsearch, cfaith will receive one penny!

GS Logo 250x38

Contact Us

Business Hours:


Monday—Friday: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. CST
Saturday & Sunday: Closed

Phone:

(763) 488-7800 or (800) 748-8107

Mailing Address: 

CFAITH.com
9201 75th Avenue North
Brooklyn Park, MN 55428

 

Login Form

Please ignore the “Secret Key” field; it is not needed to log in to cfaith.

Login Change Article

Spring360x442
You need to enable user registration from User Manager/Options in the backend of Joomla before this module will activate.