By Mike Shreve — Originally published in God Reports
Evangelism has been my focus for 55 years, ministering throughout the United States and in 14 other nations. God mercifully saved me during the Jesus Revolution (1970), out of a hippie lifestyle and a passionate, though misguided pursuit of truth through far eastern religious practices (yoga and meditation).
Shortly after encountering Jesus and being delivered, along with another brother in the Lord, I began hitchhiking around the country, preaching the Gospel on street corners and college campuses. That developed through the years into ministry in churches, auditoriums, conferences, and tent crusades. Supernatural provision and divine intervention has always carried me, through every phase of this five-and-a-half-decade-long adventure. However, the following story is a classic.
For about 25 years I carried big Gospel tents around the country. At the time of this “miracle,” I was transporting a 60’ x 90’ tent from one city to the next in an old, dilapidated bus that kept introducing new challenges to our amateur mechanic skills (putting it mildly).
One day, on our way to Tampa, Florida — unfortunately — we hit a large pothole in the road that put a serious dent in the rear left rim on which a large truck tyre was mounted. From that point, the inner tube would not retain air, making it necessary to stop every thirty miles (48 km) or so to fill it up again . . . and again . . . and again . . . making the trip painfully slow.
Adding to the problem, the other rear tyre was bald, and we had no spare (couldn’t afford one). So, a flat would have brought us to a complete standstill. Sometimes, I think back on those days (when our zeal for the Kingdom outran any wisdom we might have possessed), and I marvel at the many times God took care of us anyway (like the loving heavenly Father that He is).
Thousands of pounds of equipment were packed into that groaning, creaking, rusty, decrepit bus — heavy canvas tent sections, metal poles, stakes, platform, and 300 chairs — and only a few days allowed in between cities for transit and setup. No, we really could not afford any setbacks. And yes, a lot of “faith prayers” were uttered during every trip (or were they “presumptive proclamations” — not sure — maybe a mix of the two).
Once we got to Tampa, attempting to be frugal, I visited the junkyards hoping to find a used replacement rim. As if they had conspired to dissuade me, every junkyard owner/manager shot down my hopes with a similar assessment, “Fella, you won’t find one of them old split-rims anywhere. They’re dangerous. When you try to mount a tyre on one, they can snap open and injure somebody real bad, cutting off a hand, even killing a person. We melted ‘em all down as scrap metal.” (Go ahead, look them up online — they were even called “widow-makers.”)
It was the same story everywhere I went. Nobody could help. Then three weeks passed and we had to pack the bus and head to our next location — Bessemer City, North Carolina. It was a college-level, biblically-sound course on developing long-suffering and patience: stopping every thirty miles (48 km) or so to air up that unpredictable tyre, pleading with God to somehow supernaturally assist us in our journey by making sure none of the tyres blew. Somehow, we made it — around 600 miles (965 km) — stopping about 25 times. Then an incredible miracle happened! God did it and I still feel awestruck, just writing about it.
As we turned into the fairgrounds area, right in the middle of the entrance were two brand new, neatly-stacked truck tyres (unclaimed), exactly the size we used on the bus — mounted (you guessed it!) on the very same split rims our bus required. Talk about worshiping God — we launched into a praise session right then and there! What were the odds? We all knew it had to be God. Jehovah-Jireh (the Lord our provider) had fulfilled His amazing promise to do “exceedingly, abundantly above all” we could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).
Then like an artist executing a final brush stroke to a masterpiece, God added to the glory of an already-mind-bending-marvel. After erecting the tent, a tame, white dove walked out of the woods nearby and allowed us to pick it up. (To this day, we have no idea where it came from. Maybe it was left behind by the circus that was there before us.) We carried it into the tent and tossed it into the air, wondering if it would just take the opportunity to escape. Instead, it flew around the perimeter of the tent several times, then returned to our hands.
We all agreed. The tyres and the dove had to be a double-sign that Jesus was about to move in a mighty way — and He did. The tent was packed (standing-room-only) from the first night and dozens of down-and-out people were saved and found the Lord. It was one of the greatest examples of divine intervention and prophetic provision I have ever been privileged to witness — and it taught me a lesson I have never lost sight of. In the most challenging and even seemingly impossible situations, I can always trust God. He’s our Father. He takes care of His children.
Along with their evangelistic work, Mike Shreve and his wife, Elizabeth, oversee Deeper Revelation Books, a Christian publishingcompany in Cleveland, TN—www.shreveministries.org and www.deeperrevelationbooks.org. He has written 18 books including two Amazon #1 bestsellers. Their two outreach websites are having global impact: www.thetruelight.net and www.toCatholicswithlove.org. They love God and love people—and that’s the bottom line.
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