There is an old story about two friends (Bill and Bob) who went fishing one day, on a very large lake. As the morning turned to afternoon, and then on to evening, they drifted further and further toward the middle of the lake. A bit of a breeze and drop in the air temperature stirred Bill from his daydreaming. A look at the western horizon showed a massive storm bearing down on them. Bill quickly alerted Bob and asked..."Do we paddle or pray?" Bob calmly surveyed the sky, the distance to the shore, and the sky again before replying..."Both."
So we find ourselves in a similar position. Being ready by January 6th is our "storm",and the paddling includes raising support, selling the house, and most immediately, heading to the
the next week or so to find a place to call home, plus countless other details.
You'd think if God wanted us to do this He would make it much easier.
>> Rather than have to contact hundreds of people in search of supporters, why not just let us win the lottery?
>> Why should we have to market the house? Shouldn't someone just show up and offer twice the market value for it?
>>Get visas? What for? We're on a mission from God!
>>Shouldn't someone just donate a car and free gas...who needs $10/gal petrol anyway?
It seems like we have to go through quite a lot of growing, stretching and being faithful to take on a job with no pay.....doh....maybe that is the point. God wants to prepare us for what lies ahead, and He knows we cannot do this on our own.
This is where the prayer part comes in....because this whole process is beyond our means, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and financially. We cannot do this alone. Would you be in prayer for us as we look for a place to live? Would you be in prayer as we seek to find a buyer for our house? And here is the dangerous one....would you be in prayer as we seek to build our support network? (What's so dangerous about this one you ask....the support network just might include you.)
Thank you.
We are running on faith, but we are not running alone.
Wow, I can so identify with you guys and what you've written here, especially your comments about God just 'fixing' everything rather than having to go through the whole process. I'm about to start my second term with NLI and am working on the whole support-raising process again. You're right, it is a journey and God teaches us much along the way. Hope you don't mind if I pinch your story and 'thoughts' to communicate to my supporters too. Looking forward to seeing you in the office next week.
ReplyDeleteJudith....feel free to "pinch" whatever you need...see you later this week.
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