Sometimes our lives of faith are more like a roller-coaster ride that an easy-going ride in the park.
This has been my experience over the last few weeks. It felt as if my faith were being pushed to the ‘nth degree and I knew that I desperately needed time out with God. I needed to find a quiet space to hear His voice without all the clutter of my own perceptions and expectations.
It all came crashing down soon after I posted two weeks back, about trusting in God completely, for the success of my new venture. Somehow, I had backed myself into a corner, too fearful to take any step at all, for fear that I would be stepping out on my own, rather than allowing God’s hand to move.
For a while, I sensed God’s gently prompting for me to return to my ‘Proclamation of faith’ – to remind myself of the commitment that I had made. But instead I kept praying and praying for God to do something radical so that I could know with all certainty, that He was in this. That I had heard right. I was begging for a sign. I was terrified that I would not see Him move. That my faith would come to naught. I believe that God has blessed me with an incredible faith. But this time, my faith was tested beyond anything I had experienced before. I literally cried before God, imploring for Him to show me a display of his faithfulness. I lay out my fleece on the grass, but there was nothing – except the still quiet voice calling me into a quiet space with Him.
Eventually, I got the message. Stop begging and start listening.
That morning, my reading was from Mark 8:1. The piece about Jesus feeding the Four Thousand.
About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them, 2 “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance.”
4 His disciples replied, “How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?”
5 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”
“Seven loaves,” they replied.
6 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd. 7 A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to distribute them.
8 They ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. 9 There were about 4,000 men in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten.
The message was loud and clear.
“Do not be afraid to ‘do’. You do your little bit, and I will turn it into great things!”
While I was journalling, God gave me these words. “As sure as the sun will rise each day, so you can be sure that I will be with you in this venture. Trust your creativity. Trust your promptings. Do not be afraid. I will bring the people.”
It was as if the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I could breathe again. I did not have to be afraid of acting outside of my faith. I could ‘act’ and my faith would trust that God would turn my efforts into great things.
This was, is and always will be our ‘Proclamation of faith’.
We are trusting in God’s miraculous power to bring each child that needs to be brought and each mentor that He needs to work through, to further His kingdom.
The success of Heartland will be a perfect reflection of God’s goodness and provision.
Our commitment will be that each day, we will pray for Heartland, the kids and the mentors.
We will watch for answers to prayer, and expect them.
We will be absolutely honest, avoiding all business trickeries.
Right from the start, a set portion of the business income will be given to God, as we are led.
We will keep a record of exactly how the Lord is dealing with us and what is happening in the business.
So I will continue trusting God to lead and guide me in all that I do. I will not be afraid to ‘do’ but trust that in the ‘doing’, God will do the blessing.