WOW! As you can tell from my fundraising bar, God is amazing! He has been doing things I never imagined I’d see. This past month has been one of the most incredible and humbling seasons in my life. I have watched God show up, and I’ve seen His faithfulness. But when this all began it was very hard to see how God was going to provide.
When I started this fundraising journey it was so easy to become intimidated by the finances. It was pretty easy to say “The Lord will provide.” and “When God brings the vision, He brings the provision.” but man, it was much harder to live that way. And I found myself at war with my flesh in these moments. There were so many worldly things stacked against me, but I knew that my heavenly Father was and is, still for me.
The Word tells us that the Spirit; the ways of the Lord, are contrary to the flesh; the ways of the world (Galatians 5). So many times I have looked at my situation in the eye of the world. “Man I have to raise almost 18K in support within about 8 months to go on the World Race?!? How is God going to provide that in my situation?” But every time that happened, the Lord brought His Word to my mind and reminded me of His faithfulness. And in those moments I began to think about all the times the Lord showed up in a mighty way in Scripture. And a thought came into my mind:
“Isn’t it funny how the Lord always seems to stack the odds against Himself before He shows up?”
If I look at my situation through the flesh, things aren’t in my favor, the odds were definitely against me. I live in a town of 2,000 people, have a church community of 150, and live in an area that is facing some very hard economic times. How in the world am I going to raise funds to be able to do what the Lord is preparing for me?
Now this is where things get fun. If I look at my situation through the Spirit, things look vastly different. My situation is not based on my circumstances anymore, it’s based on the Goodness of God. The Word tells us that the Lord will provide when we ask! (Matt. 7:7-11) That everything on the Earth is His to begin with! (Psalm 50:10-12) That when we seek Him, everything else falls into place. (Matt. 6:33)
Aren’t you glad that God’s provision isn’t based on our circumstances?!
And here’s just some proof that the Spirit is greater than the flesh. Even though the odds looked like they were against me (and they were in the view of the world), over the past month I have seen over $13,000 come in from THIS COMMUNITY. A town of two thousand, a church body of one hundred and fifty, and a town that is hurting economically. How is that possible? Only through the Lord. The Lord has not only provided, but He has shown off His goodness to me by doing all of this within a two month period. At this rate, I will be FULLY FUNDED by training camp(Oct. 19th). Wow, God is good!
I don’t know what you need from the Lord right now as you are reading this, but He is able to meet it. Whatever battle you may be facing, victory resides in the Lord. And He is always faithful.
Thank you all so much for following this journey, for your prayers, and yes for your financial sacrifices to make this adventure possible. I know that the Lord is not just preparing the finances but He is preparing God moments for us to go and be a light. Experiencing this time of provision just gets me excited for the important stuff. People being changed, people seeing God’s love for the first time, people being able to know that God loves them, and people becoming a part of God’s kingdom.
I know that God is preparing those things. Because without those things, none of this matters. God is providing a way because He wants to use us to make a difference, to see peoples lives changed for eternity because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Yes it is so exciting that God is providing now and I hope you are excited too! But man, it is going to be so much more exciting to see God providing moments to enter peoples lives wherever the Lord wants to put us.
So I am still praying for provision. But this time it just looks a little different.
Please continue to pray with me and my team that the Lord will be over those moments this next year. That He would continue to provide, provide financially for my teammates still raising funds, but also He would provide those ordained moments this next year where we can share the love of Christ.
Love you all and thank you for playing a part in what the Lord wants to do through my squad and I!
