I am fully funded! Thank you to everyone who has supported me, whether it be financially or with prayers or with encouragement. I am so grateful for your help in answering God’s call. And of course all of the glory goes to God for making this possible and providing in so many ways through so many people.
And to all of the mysterious anonymous donors: thank you. I may never know who you are, but know that this would not have been possible without you.
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If you’ve ever been to church, it can sometimes feel like the preacher is either a) trying to guilt you into giving money to the offering basket or b) trying to sell you on how you will be blessed if you just toss some money his way. I’m not convinced that this is God’s intention for giving. You see, for the Christian, God created everything and every good thing comes from Him; this is Paul speaking to some people in Athens:
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands. Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.”
You have some money or resources? Good! It came from the same guy who created the universe. And so God isn’t really concerned with taking all of our money or everything we have – truth be told, he really doesn’t need it.
What God wants is our hearts – he wants a relationship with us (Hosea 6:6 or the whole Bible). So why does it always feel like I am being challenged the most in regards to my finances? Why not stretch me or challenge me in some other way, like my comfortability or through my friendships?
I think it is because money is often what I cling most to for safety, security and happiness; these things are not bad but are things that God himself wants to provide for me. In a roundabout way, it’s how a husband feels when his wife goes to another man for the things that he himself can and wants to provide. A heart wholly devoted to God will rely on Him to provide long-lasting safety and security and happiness; the idea that money can supply these things is a delusion. And I have a funny feeling that God knows that constantly having the newest gadget or the most secure, well-stocked savings account simply will not make us happy or achieve the transformation that he is hoping to make in our lives.
So how does this relate to fundraising for the World Race? God has been using this fundraising process to challenge me to trust Him to provide. The entire process – from having $0 in my support account to today being fully funded – has been one of the biggest incubators for growing my faith this far in my life. I learned that when God calls you to something, he will provide the means. I learned to not succumb to feelings of doubt or entitlement or helplessness when looking at how much farther I had to go, but to trust God, to give thanks always, and to turn those feelings over to Him. I learned a lot more about how both prayer and my own efforts are intertwined, and how the two are interdependent: praying to and trusting God is essential – I could not have persevered without these things – but God also gave me the ability to write letters, call people and host fundraisers, and both tools are necessary for success. I learned a lot about humility, which is required to ask for support. I learned to abandon my expectations – God provided in the unlikeliest of ways, not how I assumed He would. I am astounded – $16,277 is such a big sum of money to me and He did it!
On a fun side note, when I wrote this I was still $174 away from reaching my goal. But when I logged in to post it I realized that I was fully funded and had to reword a couple of sentences = happy surprises! 🙂
