Nothing But Faith

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “God called me to the ministry, and He’ll help with my school fees.”

John grew up knowing that God was calling him to become a minister, and he longed to attend Solusi University. However, in Zimbabwe, paid work for students is nearly impossible to find, so John had to rely on his mother to pay his school fees.

Because of his love for soul winning, John spent the summer traveling to several towns where he held short evangelistic meetings. He rejoiced to see 100 people come to Christ.

Returning home from his evangelism summer, John learned that there wasn’t money to pay his school fees. His mother explained that her goods weren’t selling. “Perhaps you’ll have to wait a semester to go to school,” she told John.

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “God called me to the ministry, and He’ll help with my school fees.”

An Urgent Prayer

John packed his bag and got on the bus to Solusi, arriving with not enough money to buy a ticket home. He had nothing but his faith.

That night, John stayed in a friend’s dorm room. The next day he went to see the dean, who was reluctant to assign him a room before he had financial clearance. But the dean knew John and finally agreed. “But if you haven’t received financial clearance by 5:00 p.m. tomorrow, you’ll have to move out.”

John thanked him and went to the room. Immediately he knelt down and prayed. “God, thank You for the time that I have this room. If You don’t pay my fees, I’ll have to move out tomorrow, so it’s up to You. Thanks, Lord. Amen.”

John had heard that his friend Sister Jeremiah, an evangelist, was holding meetings on campus. He went to visit her. “Did you pay your fees?” she asked him.

“No,” he said honestly. “We don’t have the money. I’ve come to pray with you about it.”

“Let’s not ask God for the money,” she said. “Let’s just thank Him for providing the money you need.”

The money didn’t come that day. As John walked around campus several friends stopped to ask how things were going. John didn’t tell them about his financial needs, but replied, smiling, “Everything is fine; God is in control.”

But by bedtime that night nothing had happened. John again placed his situation in God’s hands and then went to sleep.

Answered Prayer

The next morning John went to a campus prayer service. The leader asked for volunteers to pray. John prayed for the students who had needs, and silently he prayed for his own need.

A couple hours later he met a friend on campus. “How are you? Is everything OK?” his friend asked him.

“Yes,” John said, “everything is OK. God is in control.”

“How’s your mom?” the friend asked.

“She’s fine,” John answered. Then without thinking, he added, “But she’s worried about my school fees.”

“How much do you need?” he asked.

“Fifty thousand [Zimbabwean] dollars.”

His friend pulled out some pula, currency from Botswana. “Here’s 250 pula,” his friend said. The money was equivalent to 23,000 Zimbabwean dollars. John thanked his friend warmly.

OK, God, he thought. Now how do I turn this pula into enough Zimbabwean dollars to register?

Within minutes John found someone willing to exchange his pula for Zimbabwean dollars—at a rate that gave him half the amount he needed to register. John hurried to a phone to tell his mother what God had done.

“Mom,” he said, “can you please send Mercy [John’s sister] to the bank to deposit 25,000 [Zimbabwean] dollars?”

“John,” she answered, “you know I don’t have the money.”

“Just send Mercy to town,” John said. “God will provide the money.” His mother was puzzled, but she didn’t argue. If John had that kind of faith, she dared not doubt. So she asked Mercy to go to town and wait for God to give her the money for John.

Meanwhile John went to deposit the $25,000 that he had received into Solusi’s bank account. Then he called his mother again.

Another Miracle

“I’ve been trying to reach you!” she said. “Mercy met a friend of yours in town who had planned to give you some money, but you had already left for school. When Mercy told him how much you needed, it was more than he had planned to give, but when he opened his wallet, he had more than $25,000. So he gave Mercy the money for you. We just need to know Solusi’s account number so we can deposit it!”

John’s eyes filled with tears as he heard how God was answering his prayers. Hurrying back to school, John arrived just minutes before the office closed. His heart felt light, and his step was easy as he thought of how God had performed another miracle for a young man with nothing but faith.

More than 1,000 students are enrolled at Solusi University. The school is growing larger, and more space in the dining hall is needed. Thank you for supporting the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering which will help build an extension to the university’s dining hall.