Woah.
21 days. No Facebook. No Instagram. No “yummy” food. No spending money.
Three weeks without my worldly desires. Less of me, more of Him.
These past few weeks have been trying, tempting, and freeing all at the same time. Giving up things I love for Someone I love even more was difficult at first but, looking back, was so silly to even contemplate in the first place.
Spending less time worrying about social media and more time focusing on the words God was speaking into my heart during this season produced more fruit than I could have imagined at this point in my life.
One way I decided to spend my new-found “free” time during this fast was by watching sermons given by one of my favorite pastors, Michael Todd of Transformation Church in Tulsa, OK (I highly recommend you all to check him out!).
I began to watch a series called “The Expect Effect”, and God revealed some pretty incredible things through his messages.
First off, I have permission to dream big. We serve a big God. His thoughts are greater than mine. Nothing I dream up could ever compare to the size of the plans He has for my life. My big dreams are small in His eyes. God isn’t intimidated by my requests, rather He delights in fulfilling them for me, in hopes that I’ll offer my heart to Him in return. He is simply waiting for me to expect big & great things from Him. Not just wish, but expect.
And therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him.
Isaiah 30:18
Previously in this journey of fundraising, I was hoping that God would come through. I really wanted him to provide all of the funds needed to send me across the world for a year, but I can tell you that I didn’t 100%, no doubt, know that He would. I thought I needed to come up with a “Plan B”.
“If I don’t raise all of the funds, what will I do instead?”
Let me be clear. I am not raising anything. God is doing all the work. I have completely surrendered this aspect of the Race to Him. I have prayed prayers over the hearts of my supporters, that they would feel that “God-tug” on their hearts and feel convicted to give to those who need the light of Jesus in their lives. It is completely out of my hands. I cannot convince anyone to give a one-time gift of over $1,000 (that happened!!!). Only God can do that.
Back to my point. God is big enough to do anything I desire Him to do. He is waiting for me to ask Him and have enough faith to expect Him to follow through. My perspective has changed in this way:
Instead of saying, “God I hope You will provide the funds”, I’m praying, “God I expect that You will close the gap and overflow in abundance so I can spread the Good News to your lost children and build Your kingdom bigger than it’s ever been”.
This new perspective has changed everything for me.
Secondly, this new faith and expectation I am holding of God has given me the confidence I have been searching for.
The word I chose to pray over my life this year is “confidence”. I want to be more confident in God’s promises over my life, confident in His timing, confident that I am enough just as God has created me, and confident in the faithfulness of God’s character.
Now I had no idea all that God had planned for me during this past 21 days of prayer & fasting. I didn’t know how He’d show up and work in my heart regarding confidence. But, now I realize that He wants me to be confident enough in who He says He is to expect that He will provide, expect that He will close the gap in my fundraising goal, expect that He will prepare my heart for this journey, and expect that He will work miracles in and through me & my team as we shine bright for Christ in the darkest of places.
We serve a good God. Amen?! He is for us, not against us. He wants to fulfill the desires of our hearts so that we may glorify Him in return. I am in awe of all the ways the Holy Spirit has worked miracles in my life so far, and I am expectant and excited to experience all He has in store for me this year.
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If you feel that “God-tug” on your heart to support me in any way, please consider the following needs:
1. PRAYER: This season of my life is tough. Trying to juggle my last semester of nursing school, an (almost) full-time job, and all the preparation that goes into this journey (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) is hard work. I am relying on the Lord minute-by-minute to pull me through and provide all that I need. I desperately need prayer over this season in my life.
2. FINANCIAL SUPPORT: As you probably see at the top of this page, I am 34% funded at $6,615. That’s 1/3 of the way there!!! I’ve been absolutely blown away at the support I have received from each and every one of you, no matter how big or small the donation. However, I am still a little under $13,000 away from reaching my goal. Although I fully expect the Lord to provide, YOU are a part of this plan. This goal will be met by your kindness, generosity, and willingness to sacrifice for the advancement of His kingdom. Thank you so much for your consideration.
3. SHARING: Please (please!!) share this post to your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, MySpace, whatever you use. Show your friends, family members, coworkers, you name it. You never know who could be impacted, and I want as many people as possible to be aware of this awesome opportunity to minister to God’s children around the world. Especially if you can’t make a financial donation yourself, give others the opportunity to do so, and you’re making just as big of a contribution! Thank you again.
Subscribe to my blog by clicking the orange “Subscribe for Updates” at the top left of this page. Doing so will notify you whenever I post a blog, and I will be doing so pretty regularly until I leave in August, and then every week while on the field!
Thank you & love,
Allison
