I’ve never been a wealthy man, but there have been times when I was financially better off than usual. One such time was when I served as the pastor of a certain church. That church paid me a larger salary than I had ever made up until that point.

During those days, God also opened the door for Tonya and I to sell the house we had lived in for about ten years. It was a nice house, but we had decided we wanted something different. Ideally, we hoped to scale down to a smaller house and have a smaller mortgage payment.

So, after the sale was complete, we rented another house on a monthly basis and excitedly began looking around for our next home. Our excitement soon waned, however, when we couldn’t find what we wanted. The houses that would have allowed us to scale down were all too overpriced, too in need of repair, too poor in location, or too something.

The only house we liked was one that would be a step up for us. It was a beautiful house in an older, well-established neighborhood, a place perfect for raising our two young boys. But the problem was, our mortgage payment on the house would be even more than our previous one had been.

Finally, after weeks of waiting, looking, praying, and asking God to show us His will, we knew that He wanted us to buy the expensive house. Even though we remained apprehensive about the mortgage, God assured us that He would take care of us. And why wouldn’t we trust Him? After all, He already had me in a church where I was making a good salary to go along with Tonya’s teacher’s salary.

Well, things progressed along as expected for almost two years, but then God got weird on me by instructing me to resign as the pastor of that church, step out in faith, and start a new church. The idea of starting a new church was very appealing, but it was also frightening. Not the least of my concerns was, how will we make our mortgage payments if I take such a major cut in salary?

In the end, however, I submitted to God’s will and started the new church. I didn’t know where we would get the money to cover our bills, but I knew that God was able. I had preached so many sermons about God’s provision, and now it was time for me to put that preaching to the test in my own life.

It was during those days that God used nature to give me two object lessons. The first one was a squirrel. One afternoon as I was watching the little thing search for nuts in my yard, God spoke to me and said, “If I can make sure that squirrel has nuts for the winter, I can make sure that your bills get paid.”

The second object lesson came a few days later. I was sitting at my desk in my study when a small bird landed in the bush just outside my window. As I watched that bird for a moment, God said to me, “Just as I take care of that bird, I will take care of you.”

As God spoke to me about those two creatures, I was reminded that Jesus loved to use nature as a means of illustrating His teachings. Furthermore, I understood that those promises to me concerning those two creatures lined up perfectly with similar teachings He had given some 2,000 years earlier about the birds of the air and the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:25-34). Obviously, Jesus has been a nature lover for a long time.

And so, how did things turn out for me and my little family? All told, I spent eight-and-a-half years serving as the pastor of that new church, and we never once failed to make a payment or pay a bill. Even more than that, we were able to afford “extras” such as vacations, nice Christmas gifts, baseball camps, etc.

Were we able to do all that because my salary at the new church ended up being more than expected? No, that salary never did amount to much. So, how did we do it? I would have to write an entire book to explain it, but we watched in amazement as time and time again God met the need.

You’ve noticed God’s incredible imagination and creativity in the natural world, haven’t you? Well, trust me when I say that you can apply that same imagination and creativity to the financial realm as well. I’m telling you, He just never runs out of new and interesting ways to get the bills paid for those who will put their complete trust in Him and let Him work.

Before I go, though, I do need to share with you a couple of important truths on this whole topic. Truth #1: Never try to make God cover the bill for something that isn’t His will. You see, Tonya and I made it because that house and that church were God’s will. As I once heard a preacher say, “When it’s God’s will, it’s God’s bill.” I guess the flip side of that is, “When it’s your will, it’s your bill.”

Truth #2: Be warned that there will be times when God bleeds the situation right down to the last possible moment before He meets your need. Think about Moses and the Israelites standing on the shore of the Red Sea. It wasn’t until Pharaoh’s army was right on top of them that God parted the waters. As I once heard another guy say, “God is never late, but He does miss numerous opportunities to be early!”

Through it all, though, those opening words of the famous 23rd Psalm still ring out loud and clear: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Those words mean that when you play the role of sheep and let the Lord play the role of shepherd, you will have everything you need. That includes the money you need to pay your bills.

Even now, despite the fact that Tonya and I are past that rough financial stretch of our lives, I watch the squirrels and the birds around our house and am reminded of God’s provision. And, yes, it’s the same house we once wondered if we could afford. Even more importantly, it’s the same God who is still meeting our needs. So, in light of all this, let me encourage you to get in God’s will today and trust Him to meet your needs. Just as He provides for the squirrels and birds, He will provide for you. He doesn’t promise to meet all your greeds, but He really does promise to meet all your needs.