Praying Knowing God's Will

When I made the decision not to serve in Chennai, India this summer I thought there would be a normal and common sense rationale as to why my donors would want their money back. As I made the choice not to go, I began contacting my contributors and I have to say I was a bit shocked at the answer I got from them. For the majority they have all told me plainly that they do not want a refund, and some have insisted that they have confidence that I will use the money for missionary work. There was only one exception, so far, one individual did tell me to tear up the check he gave me, but even after he said that he wanted to hear from me again when I get closer to finalizing our family mission trip to North East Africa.
North East Africa?
Family?
Yes, that is what I said.
I heard God say something to me while I was praying and contemplating this change of direction, afraid that my integrity would be in question, and that I would be viewed as someone who had his head in the clouds and didn't know what he wanted. I would resolve to be insistent about returning all the money donated to me and forget about going overseas all together,...and it was at this point God reminded me of His peace and the passion He has placed in my heart, that being: "the persecuted church and reaching Muslims with the message of the Christ."

God does not speak His will to us without also confirming His will in the circumstances and events in and around our lives. The Holy Spirit comforted me, in that, "there is a difference between that of praying if this thing is God's will, and praying knowing God's will."
Praying if something is God's will is waiting to see His confirmation about a matter we are not sure about.
Praying knowing God's will is praying with confidence because you have seen God's confirmation about these things in the past, and you see Him working in the present.
The people who are very close to me already know of my passion for the Muslim people, as they also are aware of my advocacy for the Persecuted Church.
When they heard of my choice not to go to India "the land of the Hindus", they were relieved and when they heard of my desire to serve in Africa they had a peace about it.
But these confirmations are not isolated to just the monetary blessings and the wisdom of my peers, my wife and I we see God working in our marriage about this as well.  While I have a passion to evangelize to the Muslim, both my wife and I have a desire to comfort the afflicted and the innocent. The Persecuted Church has a home in my wife's heart in that she has a passion to care for children.
It so happens that the indigenous pastors we know in the North East Region of Africa care for widows and orphans who have fled from neighboring countries escaping persecution. Families, often times single mothers with children who are now refugees who have no legal status to work, they have very little choice but to live in slum conditions combing through garbage, waste, and debris for food and items to sell.
The persecution by Radical Islam has only strengthened the reason for the Christians in the West to pray, advocate, visit, comfort and encourage the African Church.
This I firmly believe.

For the purpose of disclosure and accountability with my current and potential donors, I have expressed my desire to find a co-signer who will help me and my family oversee the funds intended for us to go serve in Africa. I have also designed a chart breaking down the financial giving made possible by living the virtues according to the Scriptures Matthew 19:21 and Luke 12:33-34, the passages that serve as the inspiration for this blog. This Pie Chart is a feature I would like to share twice a year, if not then quarterly about every three to four months.

This Chart reflects the financial giving made possible by my endeavor to sell material possessions and give the profits toward missionary efforts for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This Chart shows the progress that has been made since January 2012 until now, so this would reflect the giving of about 5 months.
There were 6 different ministries I chose to give to:
1. Win All for Christ $56.97
2. A undisclosed adoptive family in my church $17.45
3. Our Family Mission Trip $104.50
4. Watch and Pray Ministries $35.78
5. Gospel for Asia $20.00
6. Voice of the Martyrs $7.50

Looking at this Chart what is evident is the intentionality of the financial giving toward the work being done in Africa, and looking ahead it is my desire to find out how can I give more? Whether it is through yard sales or auctions, I am excited to see how I can give more to what God is doing in the Arab African countries and keep less for myself.  I have also chosen to be more specific in who I give to, which has lead me to include Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry, a wonderful ministry that explicitly reaches out to our Muslim neighbors.

Now a figure that is different all together is the money that has been contributed by others, money I am not allowed to give, money that been intentionally given for the express purpose of sending our family to the African mission field is $726.00.

I want to leave you with an opportunity to buy something and help make a difference in the life of a Muslim, a Widow, and an Orphan. A wonderful friend of mine who has a godly talent for crocheting has made these beautiful hand made hats. She has graciously given them to me and has asked that the recommended price be about $10.00 a piece. Once I sell them I desire to split the profits four ways, for every hat sold I will give five dollars away:
Three dollars toward Watch and Pray Ministries, another dollar to Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry, and another dollar to an undisclosed adoptive family. The remaining five dollars of every sale will go toward our family mission trip.
As of right now we are praying and considering either serving in an orphanage in Ethiopia or Kenya. 

Praise Report for May

This is a photo of the soffit
on my front porch, I took
a nap while watching the
yard sale. I was peacefully
awakened by
the sounds of a family of
birds who have made their
home inside.

The Yard Sale today was nothing less than a test of faith, knowing that the time is closing for the finances necessary to travel to India is shortly upon me are due, I still hold to the belief that it is important to do these yard sales to benefit the giving to other ministries. With what I had to sell, God provided me with a profit of $21.80. Not bad.
My discernment told me to divide the profit three ways, $9.00 will go to the work of Win All for Christ in Tanzania, Africa. Another $9.00 will go toward my fundraising to travel to India. And the remaining $3.80 will be given to an undisclosed family in our church who is in the process of adopting.

In previous weeks as I have taken time out of my work schedule to set these yard sales up, while I have worked to raise money to give, the time taken away from  my employer has taken a toll on the paycheck that provides for my family. With finances being tight and no grocery budget, my wife asked if I would be willing to withdraw money from what I have saved toward the mission trip.
She did not ask me to take from the money others have donated to me.
If she said that she might as well be Job's wife. I would've told her, "God will provide another way."
Rather, she asked if I would be willing to take from the money I have earned from the yard sales.
I sat down with the receipts showing the donations others have either written checks or given cash to me, subtracting that from the total of what I have saved, I realized the math is never wrong, and that very little of my own money has gone toward this venture.
I knew that I would be sacrificing more of my own money, yes for the good cause of taking care of my family, but it also meant my further letting go of a dream.
I asked myself, "Would I be violating any agreement I prayerfully made with God if I transferred money from the intended purpose of serving in missions for the sake of feeding my family?
"And has this happened to anyone else?"
God's Holy Spirit reminded me of Matthew 6:11, "If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father, which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" And 1 Timothy 5:8, "But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."

And yes, this has happened before, to someone else.
I was reminded of Brother Andrew and what he calls, "The Game of the Royal Way."
as he recounts in his testimony in God's Smuggler:

"It was necessary for foreigners in Britain to renew their visas at periodic intervals. I had to have mine renewed by the thirty-first of December, 1954, or leave the country. But when that month rolled around, I did not have a cent to my name. How was I going to get the forms down to London? A registered letter cost one shilling - twelve pennies. I did not believe that God was going to let me be thrown out of school for the lack of a shilling.

And so the game moved into a new phase. I had a name for it by now. I called it the Game of the Royal Way. I had discovered that when God supplied money He did it in a kingly manner, not in some groveling way.

The last round in the game was the most subtle of all. It was December 30. I had to have my application in the mail that day if it was to get to London on the thirty-first.

At ten o'clock in the morning, one of the students shouted up the stairwell that I had a visitor. I ran down the stairs thinking that this must be my delivering angel. But when I saw who it was, my heart dropped. This visitor wasn't coming to bring me money, he was coming to ask for it. For it was Richard, a friend I had made months ago in the Patrick slums, a young man who came to the school occasionally when he just had to have cash.

With dragging feet I went outside. Richard stood on the white pebble walkway, hands in pockets, eyes lowered. "Andrew," he said, "would you be having a little extra cash? I'm hungry."

It lay among the pebbles, the sun glinting off it in just a way that I could see it but not Richard. I could tell from its color that it was a shilling. Instinctively I stuck out my foot and covered the coin with my toe. Then as Richard and I talked, I reached down and picked up the coin along with a handful of pebbles. I tossed the pebbles down one by one, aimlessly, until at last I had just the shilling in my hand. But even as I dropped the coin into my pocket, the battle began. That coin meant I could stay in school. I wouldn't be doing Richard a favor by giving it to him: he'd spend it on drink and be thirsty as ever in an hour.

While I was still thinking up excellent arguments,  I knew it was no good. How could I judge Richard when Christ told me so clearly that I must not. Furthermore, this was not the Royal Way! What right had an ambassador to hold on to money when another of the King's children stood in front of him saying he was hungry. I shoved my hand into my pocket and drew out the silver coin.

"Look, Richard," I said, "I do have this. Would it help any?"

Richard's eyes lit up. "It would, mate." He tossed the coin into the air and ran off down the hill. With a light heart that told me I had done the right thing, I turned to go back inside.

And before I reached the door the postman turned down our walk. In the mail of course was a letter for me. I knew when I saw Greetje's handwriting that it would be from the prayer group at Ringer's and that there would be cash inside. And there was. A lot of money: A pound and a half - thirty shillings. Far more than enough to send my letter, buy a large box of soap, treat myself to my favorite toothpaste - and buy Gillette Supers instead of Blues.

The game was over. The King had done it His way."

- God's Smuggler: 35th Anniversary Edition,
(c) 2001, pg. 75-76  

Knowing I did the right thing, of course. I became more aware that what funds I already have to go India are the result of the gifts of others, and this means I must trust God even more, because if this is His will, He will have to provide the rest His way.
The thought that this has gotten out of my hands has obviously been overshadowed by the reality that this was never in my hands to begin with.
And it suits well, perhaps it was I who was the one who was the most blessed today? The crisis to be further broken, to trust more in God. What shame is in that?

Another interesting thing I noticed today was while I was waiting for more people to pull off to the side of the road see what I have to sell. The times I had the Bible open, either sitting on my front porch or on the back of the tailgate of my pick up truck. I was reading from Ezekiel, those were the times people stopped by and bought something.

I look forward to doing another yard sale next month to benefit the giving to other ministries doing the work of Christ and His Great Commission.