“God’s Improbable Provision” in a year of living more generously is a word from the Lord to us in the ARC these days. It is one of the keynote messages we hope will be preached, heard, and received throughout the ARC this year. It is more than merely a message; it is a reality already being experienced by a number of ARC members.

If you have not heard this word yet, you can through one of two ways. ARC Director Mike Bradley is preaching this keynote message in ARC churches and you can invite him to be in your church this year to preach this word. Another way is by going to the ARC website at www.arcusa.org and click on the “ARC Spotlight Message” icon on our home page There you will find a series of four messages by ARC leader, Graeme Sellers, unpacking this word for the ARC.

God’s Improbable Provision does not merely concern financial provision, though it does include that. Following is a testimony from one ARC member concerning God’s improbable provision for a relationship which she thought was irreparably broken. As you experience God’s improbable provision this year, please write your testimonies and send them to Mike Bradley at safeplacemb@gmail.com so we can build up each other’s faith for God’s improbable provision in our lives and our churches.

From California 
I was sitting at the church my husband pastors, listening to our dear friend, Mike Bradley give the sermon. That morning Mike was preaching on God's improbable provision. Being a pastor's wife, I am intimately acquainted with many narratives in the room and I am often praying that the message would touch specific people. I really liked this topic because there were people with financial, marital, substance abuse issues standing right near me that I just knew would be encouraged and transformed by this message.

As Mike shared and had each of us search our own lives for ways God might be wanting to do something improbable, a disrupted friendship flashed across my radar. It passed quickly because I felt like this one was "far too improbable," in fact I really had lost all hope and didn't want to test my faith even contemplating God's movement on this one. Later, Mike revisited the idea that we might have something to lay before God for him to do something improbable. I again was struck by this ruptured friendship but at best could only mutter a prayer of "Lord this one is probably just what it is..."

When I returned home from church that day, I finished making lunch for our family and the phone rang. I stared for a moment at the contact name...it was Sarah. The first words out of her mouth were, "I am so sorry. I have no idea what has been happening to me. Will you forgive me?" We talked for some time and Sarah cried, sharing how difficult the issue that had disrupted our friendship had been and how much she had struggled to express it to anyone.

I reflected when I got off the phone to the image of me standing in church, barely able to hold a thought about God doing something so incredibly improbable. I find that in ministry I am always looking to see where God might move in others and often leave myself out because my needs are not the right size or nature. This was an incredible reminder that God sees me and wants me to trust him to supply all of my provisions, no matter how improbable they may seem.