When is the last time you got in way over your own head? Maybe you had no clue how you were going to meet a deadline, or how you were going to pay a bill. Or maybe you just didn't have the capacity to extend any more love or encouragement to someone, because you were feeling empty yourself.
This semester at the ministry group I attend on my campus, we are studying the Old Testament. This study has come to affirm a few things I know to be true.
1. God is big.
2. God is present.
3. God is faithful.
4. God is a provider.
5. God is God.
6. We are not.
Even the people in the Bible were in over their heads. Just take a gander at the Israelites wandering through the desert not sure when their next meal or sip of water would be. They needed God to provide the manna, and to lead them to the water. And even though they grumbled and they doubted, still God showed up for them. They just couldn't do it by their own accord, and neither can we. Thankfully, we don't have to. We have a big, present, faithful, providing, and loving God who will show up for us. Every single time.
I've spent this entire semester in over my head. Drowning in assignments, commitments, decisions, and uncertainty. But still, God is God. And still, He shows up.
Let me tell you a story.
Last semester, I heard about a trip that Campus Ministry at Grand Valley was going to be taking to Israel in May. The moment that I heard this, tears sprang to my eyes and I was sure the room was spinning. Uhm, hello, God, what is happening here? Gently, He whispered to my heart. "You're going to Is . . ." Before He could even finish, I was thinking of every possible thing that could stop this.
But God . . .
My family won't let me.
I don't have the money.
I have too much else to do this summer.
I don't have a passport.
I'm not even confident that I could point out Israel on a map. (Don't judge me.)
It's not safe.
I don't have a suitcase big enough. (I'm not kidding - I thought of this.)
Did I mention I don't have the money?
I think I'm going to pass out.
As these stories tend to go, God was right. I'm going to Israel. And it has not been without stress, worry, and tears from both my family members and myself. Especially when it came down to the money. (Side note: They're not kidding around when they use the term "broke college student." I'm fairly confident that if you looked this term up in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of me eating a bowl of Ramen Noodles.)
Anytime someone would ask about my trip, and how I was going to pay for it, I would say "God will provide!" with a smile on my face. And while I hoped this to be true, and believed it in my head, I don't know that I believed it in the depths of my heart. I made it very clear to God - I was scared. But He could handle this. After all, He is God, and I am not.
Last weekend, I did my final fundraiser for my trip. It was a great success (shout out to all of you who bought chocolate covered strawberries!), but there was still a gap of around $1000 that I would need to pay for the trip. Let me tell ya: I don't have $1000 lying around. So I asked God for it. And then I repeated Matthew 7:7 until I was blue in the face.
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
The next day, I went to lunch with some friends. On my way there, a line from a worship song I have heard hundreds of times caught my attention in a new way.
"This is my prayer in my hunger and need, my God is the God who provides."
I took this as affirmation; everything was going to be okay. At the end of the lunch, these dear friends of mine handed me an envelope and told me they wanted to further support me in my trip to Israel. I had never told these friends how much I had left to raise or about my desperate prayer the night before. I went to my car and opened the envelope. Inside, there was a check for one thousand dollars.
Friends, be encouraged today that God knows our need, and God hears our prayers. He absolutely knows we're all in over our heads. This is where He wants us, because this is what allows God to be God. He is big, He is present, He is faithful, and He will provide.
Whatever you're in need of, whether it be $1000, or just enough grace and peace to make it through the day, our God is the God who provides.
No comments:
Post a Comment