Ministry Moments:
Money Miracles --
"I Want You to Buy a New Car"
by Lynn Ridenhour
I was driving down the highway one day and the Lord
said, "…I want you to buy a new car." I responded immediately,
"…but Lord, I don’t have any money. I don’t even have a bank
account." I continued driving. About a week later the Lord spoke again,
"…I want you to buy a new car." Again, I responded, "…Lord,
you know I don’t have any money," and continued on.
Another week goes by.
This time the Lord seemed emphatic, "…I want you to buy a new
car!…" I should have known better, but my response was the same,
"…Lord, I don’t have any money…" and drove on.
Each time the Lord spoke, I was on I-70. My wife and I had an old green ’69
Ford Fairlane, stick shift, with way too many miles on it. It was a gift to us
from our friend, Joe Hoover. Our car was really the community car. For at the
Upper Room, everyone used it. I remember one morning Danny came into my room
and asked, "…Brother Lynn, can I borrow your car?"
"…Sure, keys are in it…"
I didn’t know it but Danny borrowed my car and went home. All the
way to Hunstville, Alabama. And was gone four days. He came back, having put
over fifteen hundred miles on the old jalopy. Yep, our car was the community
car. At the time my wife and I were running and operating a Christian halfway
house in a little town sixty miles west of St. Louis. And truly we needed a
new car. But in the natural it seemed an impossibility.
Linda and I were tired. Running a Christian halfway house is a
twenty-four/seven. We needed a break. Our second anniversary was coming up, so
we decided to drive into St. Louis and spend the weekend together. It would be
good to get away. We left the Upper Room in charge with some friends and were
headed down I-70 again. This time for a bit of relaxation.
About half way there our car caught on fire and left us stranded on the
interstate.
The rear end had gone out. I was mad. I really wanted this weekend to be
perfect. Here we were, my wife and I, stranded on the interstate. I told Linda
to stay in the car, to lock the doors, and I would walk up the road to a
service station and call a friend. "…Lord, not much of a weekend…"
I called Dr. Cornwell, a chiropractor friend of ours, and asked if he would
come get us. He said he would. About an hour later he pulled up behind us. We
got in his car and started back toward the Upper Room. I left our car along
the roadside with a note attached.
"…Doc, do you mind if I borrow your car when we get home?…"
"…I don’t mind…"
"…What are you going to do, hon?…" asked my wife.
"…I’m going to buy us a new car…"
She sat in silence, knowing our circumstances. She knew we had no money.
But I was just mad enough to obey God. When we arrived back at the Upper Room,
we took Doc home, and Linda and I drove away to purchase a new car. We went to
a Chevrolet dealership nearby, parked Doc’s car in the parking lot and
started looking at new cars. Soon a salesman approached us, "…see
anything you like?…"
I had my eye on a station wagon.
"…We’d like to test drive this station wagon…"
"…Fine, I’ll go get the keys…"
He came back with the keys and Linda and I took it for a drive.
"…You like it, hon?…"
She was having a difficult time. "Hon, you know we don’t have any
money…"
"…I know it. But the Lord told me to go buy a new car, and we’re
going to buy a new car. Do you like it?…"
With some reluctance, she nodded.
"…So do I. Then we’ll buy it…" As we pulled into the
parking lot the car salesman was waiting.
"…How’d it drive?…"
"…Good, we want to buy it…"
"…Great. Come on in…"
We followed him into his cramped office. He sat behind his desk, pulled out
some paper work and began asking us questions.
"…Where do you work?…"
"…We’re full time in the ministry, sir…"
"…You mean your church pays your salary…"
"…No sir, we live by faith. We don’t have a salary…"
He continued writing.
"…How much do you want to put down?…"
"…Sir, we don’t have any money…"
His red hair seemed to turn redder.
"…You don’t have a down payment?…"
"…No sir…"
"…How do you expect to pay for this car?…"
"…The Lord told us to buy a new car, sir, and we’re stepping out
in faith…"
His face was really red now. He tore up his paper and threw it in the
wastebasket.
"Sir, you come back when you have some money. We don’t accept faith
here for down payments…" And he showed us the door.
"…Could you tell us where the nearest dealership is?…"
"…Beck’s Dodge, four miles down the road…"
We left him shaking his head.
"…Where you going, hon?…"
"…We’re going to Beck’s to buy a new car…"
I was determined to buy a new car that day. My eyes were not on our bank
account. We didn’t even have a bank account. My eyes were on the Lord.
We did the same thing at Beck’s Dodge. Linda and I pulled up into the
parking lot, and walked around until we spotted another station wagon. A
salesman came out; we told him we’d like to test drive the station wagon; he
got us the keys, and we drove it.
"…How’d it drive?…"
These guys must all learn the same questions.
"…Fine, sir. We’d like to buy it…"
"…Come on in…"
He too pulled out some paper work and began asking us questions.
"…Have you folks ever bought a car from us before?…"
"…No sir…"
"…How do you want to pay for the station wagon?…"
I had forgotten that I had twenty-five dollars in my pocket.
"…We have twenty-five dollars, sir…"
He laughed, "…twenty-five dollars!… "…You want to put
twenty-five dollars down on a brand new car?!…!
"…Yes sir…" He was still chuckling.
"…Well, I got to get the boss’s ok on this one. You sit still…"
And he left the room.
At least he didn’t wad up the paper and show us the door. He returned
shortly.
"….I talked to the boss. You folks go on home and we’ll call you
in the morning…"
I wasn’t too hopeful. That was their way of being polite. We excused
ourselves, thanked the man, and went home.
The next morning the phone rang.
"…Mr. Ridenhour?…"
"…Yes…"
"This is Beck’s Dodge. I’m the salesman that waited on you
yesterday. I don’t understand this. I talked to Mr. Beck, the owner, and he’s
never done this before, but he says—if you can come up with an additional
hundred dollars, you can have the station wagon."
"…Sir, we’ll be there in the morning with the hundred dollars…"
and I hung up. I was really enthused, then it dawned on me, "…I don’t
have a hundred dollars! Why did I say that?…"
Linda and I were holding a Bible study for new converts that evening at
Fred Lewis’s. I had just begun the teaching when in walked Liz. A couple
evenings ago, our Jesus band, the Voice, had played in the town pool hall. Liz
was playing the pin ball machine that evening when the Lord instructed me to
talk to her about the love of God. Liz was converted and was showing up for
her very first Bible study.
She had on a leather jacket, jeans, and boots. We were all sitting around
on the floor. I had my Bible lying open on the coffee table in front of me.
Without saying a word, Liz walks over, throws a wad of bills down on my Bible,
and says, "…that’s yours…" and takes her place on the floor
next to a friend.
I think nothing of it. Put the money in my pocket and continue teaching.
When we get home that evening, I remember the wad of bills in my coat pocket.
I pull them out, and Linda and I count out one hundred one-dollar bills!
The Lord used this Mary Magdalene to meet our needs!
We drive over to Beck’s Dodge the next morning, give them our one hundred
one-dollar bills, and drive away with our brand new Dodge station wagon.
The Lord made every payment. We paid the car off early, and received an
unexpected phone call from the owner, Mr. Beck.
I never will forget that phone call.
"Rev. Ridenhour, I must admit—I was hesitant in doing what I did,
but something inside me said do it. You proved it to me. If you ever need
another car, you simply call me."
"…Thank you, sir. That means a lot to me…" and I hung up.
It was a good day. God was a good God.
