The listing went up at nine in the morning. By eleven, when she finally got through on the phone, the landlord said he already had fifteen people interested and was only showing the flat that evening. She arrived early, clutching a folder with her job letter, bank statements and a reference from her last landlord. There were eight people on the steps already. One of them had brought a cheque for the deposit.
Anyone who has searched for a place to rent in a crowded city, whether Kingston, London, Toronto or New York, will recognise the feeling. The anxiety of not knowing where you will be living in two months. The sense that everything depends on getting there first, making the right impression, having the right connection. The quiet humiliation of being turned down without explanation, again.
Going ahead of the people
As Moses handed leadership to Joshua, on the edge of a land the people had never lived in, he said: “And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8, NKJV).
They were about to face the most unsettled period of their lives: new territory, uncertain dwellings, opposition. God did not promise that it would be easy. He promised that they would not be walking into it alone, and that He had already gone ahead.
Later, through Isaiah, God spoke of going before His chosen servant to “make the crooked places straight” (Isaiah 45:2, NKJV). The picture is of a path being prepared before the traveller arrives: obstacles cleared, doors opened.
What that does and does not mean
It would be easy to turn these verses into a guarantee that the flat you want will be yours. Many believers have prayed hard for a particular place and not got it. That does not mean God was absent. Sometimes the place that was lost would have been a mistake: a landlord who never did repairs, a building that flooded, a location that would have cost hours in travel. Sometimes we simply do not know why.
What the promise does mean is that the search is not the frantic, lonely scramble it can feel like. You are not only competing with eight people on the steps. You are walking a road God has already walked.
Searching with faith and wisdom
Faith in the house hunt does not replace practical care. It shapes how we go about it:
- Be prepared. Keep a folder ready: ID, proof of income, references, and a short note introducing yourself or your family. Preparation is not a lack of faith; it is good stewardship.
- Be honest. It is tempting to overstate income or hide a pet or an extra occupant to win a place. Starting a tenancy with a lie rarely ends well.
- Protect yourself. Tight markets attract scams. Never send a deposit for a place you have not seen, or to someone you cannot confirm is the owner or authorised agent. Get a written agreement and a receipt for every payment.
- Ask good questions. Who handles repairs? How is the water supply? What is included in the rent? Is there parking, security, a place to dry clothes?
- Keep your peace. If you are turned down, it is not a verdict on your worth. Pray, breathe, and move to the next viewing.
The kindness of those who already have keys
There is another side to this. Many readers are landlords, or have a spare room, or know someone who is letting. God often goes before people in search of a home through other people. A landlord who responds to every applicant courteously, who is fair in screening and clear about terms, who fixes the roof before the rains, is part of how God makes crooked places straight for someone else.
Consider an older couple who let a small flat at the back of their house. Over the years they became known at their church as people who would at least meet anyone who needed a place, even if they could not take them. More than once, the tenant they did not choose was pointed to another landlord who could help. For those tenants, that couple were the way God went ahead.
Walking in after Him
The woman on the steps did not get that flat. She got the next one, three weeks later, from a landlord who liked that she had brought a reference and asked sensible questions about the water tank. It was a little further out, but the bus stop was at the corner and the neighbour turned out to attend her church.
If you are in the middle of the search now, take the folder, pray on the way, and walk up those steps knowing that you are not the first to arrive. He has gone before you.
This article is general information only and is not financial, legal, tax or other professional advice. Please speak to a qualified professional about your own circumstances.
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