Since we planted a church we have discovered that God has a different system of accounting than we do. We like to call it “God math.” When we lived under the umbrella of “big church” we didn’t have much concern for money. Things were stable and secure. But in church planting, you become a lot more reliant on God and are far more in tune with what God is providing.
I want to tell a story that is a direct reflection on the kind of God we serve. This story isn’t a promise…that if you do such and such then God will do such and such. God doesn’t operate like a formula. It is a principle rather than a promise and an example of what our BIG GOD can do! I hope it encourages you to cast vision and work to carry it out…and watch God take care of the rest!
The Story
When we resigned from our “big church” preaching position we had saved some money to pay the bills in between ministries. We resigned effective October 15, 2020 which meant we were cash flowed through November 15. When we hit the end of November we got an unexpected tax refund that floated us through the end of November. Some time in November/December the government was sending stimulus checks and I also received pay from some organizations for work I had done over 6 months prior that I wasn’t sure when it was going to come in.
We hit the end of November…still plenty of money to pay the bills. Same in December and January…all the way to half way through February! It was unreal. We never touched that savings account and we never asked anyone to support us during those months. I have heard people share stories like that but had never experienced it first hand!
I cannot begin to tell you how affirming it was – that God had us in His hand and that we didn’t have to be afraid.
This happened again last week. We were raising $7000 for a specific mission we have coming up and on short notice. We needed another $3000 within 10 days. I had just gotten off the phone with an elder when I got a text about our online giving not working. When I checked our system to see what the problem was…there it was…the other $3000 had already come through! I had to let that elder know that we were good! How often do you ever unask for money? God had met the need already from people I had never heard of before!
Vision, Intention, and Means
Dallas Willard used to say that where there is vision and intention, God will provide the means. He called this VIM. We have seen this over and over again and so I am thankful that we can brag on God a bit…his math is not like our math!
“7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel:
I am God, your God.
8 I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?”
– Psalm 50:7-13
In ministry it is never a money problem. It might be a vision problem. It might be an intention problem…but never, ever a money problem! God will give you what you need to do what He said to do. Period.
One Response
I praise God that you have been so richly blessed!
However, I know many of God’s workers who struggle constantly for money. Wasn’t it the apostle Paul who wrote to the Corinthians asking for them to take up a collection for his work?
I have been richly blessed that this time around, I don’t have to go looking for money for my own needs, or wondering how I will pay my bills, but I have certainly struggled with that in the past. I still go around begging for money for the work we are doing. God comes through in some amazing ways, but sometimes He does not.
The Health and Wealth Gospel tells us that if we are doing God’s will, He will always bless us with good health and plenty of money. The apostle Paul tells us “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
You would appear to be saying that Paul just didn’t have enough Vision and Intention, or God would have provided the means. I dispute that.
Praise God for the blessings he provides, and praise Him even when he doesn’t provide!