Seven lessons learned through the process of fundraising.
1. When God proclaims a promise there’s no need to worry, He’ll come through
The definition of faith I have come to know is: seeing everything the way God sees it. This means that when the Lord told me that He was going to send me on an eleven month missions trip fully funded I had to come to that same conclusion. So at the beginning of it all, I looked at the $0 in my account and stated out loud to myself that God was going to change that number. I guess you could say the entire process of fundraising began in my heart. I could go one way or the other. I could trust in what the Lord told me or I could work on my own and most likely get no where. I prayed and determined to put all my faith in the Lord. Six months later He would follow through 100% on the promise He gave to me and far sooner then I had ever imagined.
2. The Holy Spirit breaks down all barriers
There are stories I could tell you of many people who sacrificial gave in order to see this goal met. In some of these stories I don’t even know the name of the person who gave. This is because it isn’t about me. These people didn’t give that amount of money to simply help me out; they gave because the Holy Spirit prompted. They chose to obey. I am extremely thankful for people in the body of Christ who listen to the Spirit’s voice and are willing to follow His leading. It was because of the Spirit moving in the lives of other people that I can now announce that I am fully funded for the World Race. It was incredible to see the Holy Spirit at work in this way. Often I have felt His nudging in my own life, but I believe this is the first time I’ve seen Him first hand in the lives of others and the result blessed me enormously.
3. You can’t out-give God
The phrase, “You can’t out-give God,” is one I hold near to my own heart. I enjoy giving. I love to work hard for my money. I also love putting that money to good use by blessing any ministry or person I know the Lord is working through. I did my best to apply this method of thinking to my entire life. I can not out-give God, but I was going to try. In some ways it was a fun competition between the Lord and me. I knew I would loose but enjoyed playing the game anyways. I gave as much as I could and would wait for God’s response. Well, He certainly did respond. God out-gave me once again by funding this missions trip and I am overwhelmed by His generosity.
4. There are few things that will humble you as much as having to accept money from other people
I am a hard working. Perhaps on some days, too hard. I am also independent. Perhaps on most days, too independent. It was time for the Lord to humble me. To bring me to a point where everything within me knew I couldn’t do it without His ultimate strength. People would hear about my desire to go on this missions trip and were excited to give of their money. My first inward response was, “No, I can’t take your money!! You’ve worked hard for that. I don’t deserve it!!” It’s true I didn’t deserve it, but God told me over and over again to accept these gifts. I found that with every gift given to me, my pride was being leveled. The realization that I couldn’t work hard enough to earn this trip hit me right on top of the head. I could feel humility flood my soul. God was using these gifts of money to shape me, to rid myself of importance, to become more like Christ. I gained even more so the view of how great God is and how much blessing comes when all the glory is His. I can’t take an ounce of credit for the funding.
5. Miracles happen.
We read about miracles in the Bible. I would like you to know that you are reading about a miracle right now. They’re happening all around us. We must acknowledge it. The Lord is at work. He will constantly prove His power to those who are willing to accept it. My miracle was that He chose to provide in a large way. I also believe with every inch of my heart that there will be many more miracles to come in this upcoming journey. I want to recognize those miracles too. I want to acknowledge the power of Jesus as He reveals Himself to me and hopefully to many through me.
6. It is no small thing that I’m fully funded
Yes, this is no small thing. It’s no small amount of money but even more then that, it is no small thing that God is at work. Praise Jesus for His provision. He will in fact give us the desires of our heart if we dive so much into the character of the Lord that our desires align with Jesus’ plan for redeeming this world.
7. God provided every penny
I want to state that this was of God. I didn’t earn this money. I didn’t deserve to be called by the Lord. I have chosen to accept the gift of life through Jesus though. It is because of Christ giving His life that I now can be a child of God. As an adopted child of the King I now have many responsibilities. One of these is to tell the nations about the love of Jesus, our gift from the Lord. I was called by the Father to this task and only through His strength can I accomplish it. God provided this money, just like He will provide as my team and I serve on this missions trip. Thank you for being a part of my journey. I am excited to continue to update you on the many things the Lord will do these next months to come. Praise be to Jesus. Amen.
