God knows which translation to use to make His point when He speaks from the pages of His Word. God recently used three different versions of Proverbs 18:16 to speak to me.
I heard from the New King James Version first. It happened in a meeting with my CPA, Claudia. We met to discuss changes in our financial situation and the uncertain future of the business my husband, Steve, and I have operated for more than thirty years.
As the meeting came to a close, I asked Claudia to pray for me. Before we bowed our heads, she quoted a verse that had come to her mind.
A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men. — Proverbs 18:16 (NKJV)
I knew at once the verse was intended to confirm an unexpected message given to Steve the previous Sunday. We had spent the weekend with our dear friends Chris and Marla, who retired to the Central Coast. Whenever we’re in town, we visit their church. On this particular Sunday morning, an elderly gentleman came onto the platform upon invitation and introduction from the pastor just prior to the sermon.
The man relied on his walker to move slowly into place where he began to tell the congregation of a recurring dream that had awakened him three times the previous night. I had decided the dream and its interpretation would not be for Steve and me since we don’t belong to that congregation, but I listened intently to the silver-haired man. His out-of-the-norm presence on the platform intrigued me.
The man had dreamed of trees and understood from God that the people sitting in that sanctuary were mature trees. I nodded in agreement that our friends’ church is filled with strong believers who love and serve Jesus well.
Suddenly, a Bible passage popped into my head.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. — Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)
My heart quickened upon realizing the man’s dream actually did apply to Steve and me. God brought Jeremiah’s promise to my mind as if to say that we are mature trees too, and so we could trust God to sustain us through our financial drought. Filled with a rush of encouragement, I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving and redirected my focus back to the man on the platform. At that moment, he shifted from addressing the entire congregation to speak directly to Steve! I turned to my husband in awe and could tell he hadn’t realized the man was talking exclusively to him in front of everyone. I reached over to tug on the sleeve of his green shirt, but froze when the man said this from the platform:
You, sir. I’m talking to the man in the green shirt. You are worried about your business and are even ready to give up, but God’s got your business. He wants you to trust him with your business. Don’t be worried and don’t give up. Trust God with your business.
Upon returning home from the cool breezes of the Central Coast to the searing heat of the San Joaquin Valley, I again faced the reality of our financial drought. I met with our CPA determined to trust the promise in Jeremiah 17:7-8 and the unexpected word of encouragement from the stranger with a recurring dream. Little did I know that Claudia would confirm the message we’d received at the coast just a few days prior. After quoting the New King James Version of Proverbs 18:16, she encouraged me not to worry about our business because Steve’s gift makes room for him and will open doors for him.
I couldn’t wait to tell Steve how God had added to what we’d experienced the previous weekend. I looked up Claudia’s verse in two Bible versions, but the translations differed, which troubled me at first.
Our CPA had quoted this:
A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men. — Proverbs 18:16 (NKJV)
But one of my Bibles said this:
A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great. — Proverbs 18:16 (NIV)
And another said this:
Giving a gift can open doors; it gives access to important people! — Proverbs 18:16 (NLT)
Now the proverb seemed to speak of generosity rather than abilities.
Confused by the obvious difference between gifting and a gift, I lifted a prayer for clarity and began to understand that God gave Steve gifts so that Steve can give gifts to other people—important people!
Our financial drought dried up our income for several months, which kept us from tithing and giving. It also caused a great deal of stress about the future of our business. But God used several versions of Scripture, our CPA, and an old man with dreams to confirm that we can trust God, who makes room for our abilities so that we can be generous.
We don’t know how long this drought will last, but we do know that our deep roots mean we have no reason to fear. We also know that we are blessed to be a blessing.
You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
— Acts 20:34-35 (NIV)
Are you a mature tree? Then you have no reason to fear. God sustains you through your well-watered roots. God also cares for saplings. Even if you’re less grounded in your faith, God provides all you need to send your roots down deep. Just pick up your Bible and start to read.
Any translation will do.
P.S. All the photographs were taken in Yosemite by my husband, Steve Bryant. Wouldn’t you agree that they provide evidence of his gifting?
