If you read your bible, you know that Matthew 7:7-8 says “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh. findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
However, let’s not stop there, we can also remember James 4:3 where it reads: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” Some people may read the chapter and think that this has no correlation to this story. However, if you know the Word – then you know that the bible is packed full of prophecy, and very real lessons we can apply to our lives (yes, even today – especially today if you ask me.)
You can see these couple of verses taken from the bible come to life during this story, of course, there’s much more going on here spiritually, but the lesson for Ava Guan, out of New Orleans who works at HoShun Chinese restaurant was simply this:
“God listens.”
Ava Guan believes fervently in God, and it couldn’t be any more obvious. The server had gone to church Saturday prior to clocking in at work. After learning Oliver Church, a local house of worship was in dire need of another air conditioning unit along with a few fixes to the building, she and others tithed.
That same day, Guan gave $300, however it wasn’t sufficient enough to fulfill the needs of the church. That’s when she turned to the answer – God – she asked Him to intervene.
After, she went to work, and that’s when something amazing happened. Someone left a tip of exactly $777! The bill was only $63. As you can guess, Guan was stunned.
“I tell him enjoy your food. That’s it. So he gave me the big tip. I don’t know why, it’s so crazy. A surprise for me,” she said “I can’t believe. I think it was God who gave me the gift.”
Promptly recognizing the significance and influence of this answer to her prayer, Guan said she gave the entire tip to her church, calling the thoughtful person who left the tip an “angel.”
“It’s not my money,” she said, highlighting her belief it was a blessing from God.
Now, you might think that this is all just a strange coincidence. However, the bible says that there is no such thing as coincidence to God, He hasn’t fallen off his throne or been taken by surprise from any circumstance on earth. We may have, but not Him. Hebrews 13:2 says “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” – this means that some people do in fact entertain angels, we may never know, and I’m not saying that the kind person who tipped was an angel, I’m saying you never know.
Alice Ho, who manages the restaurant, said the scenario paralyzed her, particularly in the wake of finding out about Guan’s prayer prior to getting the gift.
“Gave me goosebumps,” Ho said. “She told me she prayed that day, and it came true. That means somebody listened. Someone listened.”
The person who gave the generous tip reportedly opened a nearby eatery himself that morning and was thankful to the point that he needed to do something kind for another person. Presently, he’s trusting others to pay it forward.
That brings us back to the start of everything. We see that Guan prayed to God asking to be blessed. Not for herself, not for selfish reasons or for her own lusts, but for her church – for the house of God. Additionally, God tends to use the number 7 in the bible many times, and in the end, she was true to her heart – giving the total sum away. God knows our hearts and hears our prayers. He knows our minds, and understands us more than we understand ourselves – and this is a perfect example of that.
This story syndicated with permission from My Faith News
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