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Providential Provision The Bible says, “And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed
this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters
of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy
pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same
be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness
unto my master.” Genesis 24:12-14 (KJV) On the front porch of his little country
store in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln and Berry, his partner, stood. Business was all gone, and Berry asked, “How much
longer can we keep this going?” Lincoln answered, “It looks as if our business has just about winked out.”
Then he continued, “You know, I wouldn’t mind so much if I could just do what I want to do. I want to study law.
I wouldn’t mind so much if we could sell everything we’ve got and pay all our bills and have just enough left
over to buy one book—Blackstone’s Commentary on English Law, but I guess I can’t.” A strange-looking
wagon was coming up the road. The driver angled it up close to the store porch, then looked at Lincoln and said, “I’m
trying to move my family out west, and I’m out of money. I’ve got a good barrel here that I could sell for fifty
cents.” Abraham Lincoln’s eyes went along the wagon and came to the wife looking at him pleadingly, face thin
and emaciated. Lincoln ran his hand into his pocket and took out, according to him, “the last fifty cents I had”
and said, “I reckon I could use a good barrel.” All day long the barrel sat on the porch of that store. Berry
kept chiding Lincoln about it. Late in the evening Lincoln walked out and looked down into the barrel. He saw something in
the bottom of it, papers that he hadn’t noticed before. His long arms went down into the barrel and, as he fumbled around,
he hit something solid. He pulled out a book and stood petrified: it was Blackstone’s Commentary on English Law. Lincoln
later wrote, “I stood there holding the book and looking up toward the heavens. There
came a deep impression on me that God had something for me to do and He was showing he now that I had to get ready for it.
Why this miracle otherwise?” Daily Chronological
Bible Reading: Genesis 22-24
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