You know, God never ceases to amaze me. Just when I think I know what he’s up to or I presume to guess how he will move in a given situation, he turns the tables. He does this, I believe, not to create confusion (for he is a God of order, not of chaos), not in an effort to somehow thwart my attempts to get a handle on understanding, but because he is a God of abundance and that is something too big for my finite mind to entirely comprehend.
As a human, I am limited. I am limited in what I can do, achieve, and understand. This is not to my discredit, it is simply the nature of humanity. I am limited. God is not limited. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. And good thing too, because he quite literally has the world’s problems in his hands and I, frankly, would never want that job. I’m okay with being limited because I know the God I serve is not.
But, sometimes, I put my own limitations on God. Though he tells us in his word that his thoughts are not like our thoughts, his ways are higher than our ways, sometimes I still think I know what God’s going to do or how he’s going to do it thus projecting my limited nature onto his unlimited nature. And those are the moments in which he proves time and time again that he operates outside of my understanding. He operates from a place of abundance.
Example A. When I committed to the World Race and began to tell friends and family, one of the first questions I received was, “How are you going to raise thaaaaaat much money?” My response was always, “God will take care of it.” I believed that. I believe that when God calls us to something, he makes a way through every obstacle, no matter how large. So, I knew with every fiber of my being that God would provide for all my needs for the World Race; financial, material, emotional.
But then, for a brief moment, I did that thing. I did that thing where I put my own limitations on God. I started to plan how he was going to provide the funds necessary for the trip. I started to figure out that God was going to provide this way and that way and open this door and close that one. On and on in my head it went. I knew God would provide because I had created the perfect plan for him to do so.
Have you ever heard that saying which goes, “If you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans?” He was having a riot with me.
Praise be to God, the Lord knows my heart and so he snapped me out of that real quick. He showed me that I was looking through my limited perspective. He had another plan. He wanted to teach me about his perspective. His unlimited perspective. He wanted to teach me abundance.
So, I started praying big. I started praying those prayers you’re almost afraid to say aloud for fear of being laughed out of the room. But God was teaching me about abundance and so I wanted to follow his prompting. I started praying for full funding before I left in January, for my needs of gear and supplies to be met, for money I could put toward my student loans to relieve that burden while I’m away, for the spending money I’ll need for the year I’m gone, a plan for my car for 11 months and means to handle my car payment… I prayed big because the Lord taught me not to put him in my human box of limitations, but to wait with expectant anticipation for what he will do. Most of all, I prayed the Lord would prepare me for these things when they came. “Prepare me for your blessings, Lord, because you’re going to move in big ways. I can feel it.”
The Lord has blown my mind. Abundance. He took every plan I thought I had set a blazing fire to it revealing that he has something so much better in store. He has used his faithful people to help me in ways I couldn’t have dreamed. I knew God would provide but I could never have imagined the support I have received on this journey. I received not one tent, but two! Abundance. He allowed me to reach my fundraising goal before I even went to training camp! Abundance. God made a plan for my car and car payment. Abundance. God is rounding up a team of prayer warriors who are supporting and encouraging me and my team in this journey. Abundance. Friends, family, acquaintances, and flat out strangers have blessed me beyond compare and made an impact on my life that will last until the day I meet Jesus face to face. Abundance.
I am humbled and grateful beyond expression for the faithfulness of so many people listening to God’s call to help me. I cannot say thank you enough to you, friends old and new, family, and everyone who has stepped out in faith and given to me. The Lord is using you to wreck me in the best way possible reminding me that while I can only see things from a limited perspective, God moves in abundance. Amen!
So, now what?
Well, first of all, God is taking some of my teammates through a different journey. He is always the God of abundance, but he shows it in different ways to help us learn different things. Please pray for my teammates in their preparations, that they continue to trust that God always provides in his timing and his ways even if they look different for each person. If you feel led, give to one of them and it will bless them abundantly.
Second, if you still feel led to give to me, there are other needs to be met. I have reached my fundraising goal but still have expenses outside of this like vaccines and medications, travel to launch in January, money for expenses that will continue while I’m gone (phone, student loans, etc.). Pray about a personal donation for me to put toward these things.
Finally, Adventures in Missions is an incredible organization and after 10 days with them at Training Camp I have nothing but praises for the work they’re doing, their values, and their staff. Any donation made on my blog at this point will go to the organization itself since I am fully funded. So, if this is how you would like to give, have at it! I won’t see this money personally, but it goes to support the organization as a whole which is a cause worth supporting in my book.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions you might have. And once again, thank you! We truly serve a God of abundance.
