There’s a story I heard once of a reporter who was impressed with the work Mother Theresa was doing in Calcutta and wanted to write an article about her. In his attempts to contact her, he eventually got in touch with her on the phone. He began to question what she and the ministry she was a part of did, and imitating Christ, she invited him to “come and see,” as she did anyone who asked about the ministry.
The man agreed, and after a stay with the sisters of mercy, it was time for him to head back to the United States. Before leaving, he asked Mother Theresa if she would pray for him. Agreeing, Mother Theresa asked the man, “What would you like me to pray for, my son?” He responded, “I want clarity like you have.” The story goes that Mother Theresa laughed at the man and responded, “No. I will not pray for that. My son, I have never had clarity, what I have always had is trust…I will pray that the Lord gives you trust.”
This month, that’s become my prayer. The ministry contact in Mozi gave me a book of journals by a man named George Muller. He was called to become a pastor by the Lord, and eventually to the task of running an orphanage which provided for and trained upwards of three thousand children. And the whole time, he trusted that the Lord would meet all of his needs. Period. Scripture says, “I know my God will meet all your NEEDS according to the glorious riches of Christ Jesus.” He knew that God was in control of everything – all finances, food, transportation, safety – everything, and he generously allowed God to meet every need that he and the orphans encountered. It’s a foolish type of trust in the eyes of most of the world. How can you run a ministry without having a savings account? How can you run a ministry without having a “fall back plan?” There are a million “what if” questions he didn’t have any answer for except for the simple answer that he banked his entire life upon, “God knows my needs and knows what he’s called me to, and he’ll provide for me.”
So what does it mean to really trust the Lord? What does it mean to not need clarity about the next hour, week, month or year – but instead to live in a trust that God will make the next step available for me to walk into obedience. Here’s what it looks like tomorrow, and before I move on, I want you to join with me in praying exciting and foolish prayers. Jesus said, “you don’t have because you don’t ask.” Well, we’re going to ask today, and we’re going to watch God provide as we walk in a stupid type of faith.
Our African budget is becoming thin fast, and there’s nothing we can do to change that. Right now we are waiting in a Wycliff office home, waiting to get to a village in Botswana where a missionary wants to receive us on Wednesday. But we don’t have money for the trip. We need the Lord to show up. And as I lie in bed tonight, thinking about what God has told me the vision for our squad should be this month…which simply is :
The plan is to head into the Botswana bush on Wednesday. We’ll have limited cell phone signal until the 27th, let alone internet. I’ll try to update this then, with pictures, emails to people, and as many testimonies of God’s love in answering our silly prayers as we walk in a life of trust. Allow the Lord to impress our team upon your heart this month, and if he prompts you to pray for something, please join us in our goal of “Hearing the voice of God, and then obeying!”
