Trusting God to Provide
October 19, 2020 - January 1, 2030
Trusting God to Provide
In a mission field where you don’t have a regular pay check coming in, fundraising might be quite intimidating. However, as Christians, we’re called to trust in who God says He is. He is our Provider. I think of the verse, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
As YWAMers, we value living by faith, and practicing dependence on God to provide all the things we need to do His work.
If you were looking for a personal testimony on how to trust the Lord to provide finances, here is one from a former staff named Chelsea. Look no further to read first-hand experiences in this area!
Chelsea Logan
21, Australia
“Trusting God can be one of the hardest things to do in life, especially when He asks you to jump with no knowledge of how and when you will land on safe ground, but we do it, right? Time and time again because we know we can trust Him, right?
Well, since we know that, then why do we still look over into the darkness and say “Are you sure I can trust you Lord?” or “What if this doesn’t work?”. I was faced with the same challenge 3 months before leaving for Canada to do a secondary YWAM course. My challenge was to trust that God would provide enough sponsorship to get me there, feed me, keep an Aussie warm in the snow, do the course, and then have a ticket home. Every time I would look at my bank, I ended with an amount of money that did not leave me with trust in God. But if I could have talked to myself 3 months onward, I would have been filled with shock and amazement at how faithful and incredible our God is; in 3 months I would have all the funding I needed and more, but sadly, I couldn’t do that.
How did He do it you ask? Well when I started praying “Lord, give me money please, but just don’t make me work for it”, He made me work for it. One of my friends who had been with YWAM for a while would always amaze me at his ease to buy and do what ever he wanted without worrying about funds. One day when my stress got too much I finally asked him how he does it, he then shared with me a book called “Raise Your Support With Confidence” by Aden Ezra Wright.
When I received the book I was very disappointed as it told me on the first chapter I would still have to work for my support, but after reading a few chapters I felt God say that when I read this book and follow all the steps He will provide, but He wanted me to do the hard work.
From that point on I was continually filled with a knowing that the funding was coming. I found myself always thanking Him for it and never asking Him for it. It took me 2 months to read and follow all the steps, but finally I had done it; I had made a list of 150 potential sponsors, I had sent out all the emails, now all that was left was sitting back and letting God do His thing as really only He can speak to someone’s heart.
The next week after sending all the emails out, I was receiving emails back from people I never thought in a 100 years would reply back and they were all asking me the same thing “When can I start supporting you?” within 3 weeks I went from $150 monthly support to $1500 monthly support. It sounds impossible really! I’m not sure why God doesn’t just leave the money under your pillow or anonymously transfer it into your bank, but I know this grew me a whole lot more than just receiving money and not working for it. Ultimately, it glorified Him a whole lot more too!
God is faithful, He has always been, you just have to remind yourself of that sometimes.”
Conclusion
Although trusting the Lord takes some work, it’s also an invitation for others to join in the mission and partner with the call of the Great Commission Jesus has set for us. Seeking the Lord and knowing who God is, allows us to stand in confidence for Him to provide all He has called us into. When He calls, He equips!
Chelsea was apart of our Operations departments, check out this video on the heart behind what they do and how we see Jesus in it – The Craftsman
If you’re thinking about doing a DTS and not sure how much it’s going to cost you, check out our blog post on that exact question.
“The GoPac Stream challenged me to broaden my view for the people around me, to step out of my comfort zone, and to expand the love that God has put inside of my heart, to love Him and others more.”
Alex Ronsdorf, 24, Germany
“Being a part of the Pilgrimage Stream impacted my life for the better. Not only did it teach me how to function in a small community (as we shared the burden of climbing those mountains together), but also how to rely on one another, have fun and worship together, and, most importantly, how to be vulnerable with each other. The focus of our Stream taught me what it looks like to be on a pilgrimage for God. God calls us out of our homes to the wilderness, where we’ll see Him face-to-face, and are forced to fully depend on Him before we receive His inheritance.”
Harty Dumalagan, 21, B.C. Canada
“This is the craziest stream ever, not just doing fun activities, but the people I was with; they are wild as! Throughout the school, I’ve learned so much from the Bible that doing life with God and living my life on the edge is so much more interesting.”
Mun Hei, 21, Malaysia
“Did you know that according to WHO more than half the world does not have access to healthcare? After seeing those statistics first hand, while in the mission field, I was heartbroken, but I was not without hope. God used my SPHC team and me to meet the needs of many individuals both physically and spiritually, and He opened my eyes to the possibility of a career in healthcare. I now attend the University of Missouri and I am pursuing a degree in Public Health. I hope to one day work for the WHO and take on the challenge of reaching those without healthcare with God’s healing hands.”
Caroline Wilson, 21, Colorado, USA
“SPHC was honestly one of the best experiences of my life so far. From the lecture phase to outreach, my mind was constantly blown by the endless stream of possibilities that become available when you combine practical medical care with the power of prayer. Also, getting to hike, ride in boats and in the back of trucks, and setting up clinics basically anywhere was quite the highlight for a city girl like me.”
Tabitha Abishegam, 26, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
“Medical Compassion DTS was a truly an incredible experience. Working in health centres, hospitals and pop-up clinics grew my interest in medicine and allowed me to practically show the love of God. For me, the most transformational aspect of my Med-Com DTS was the focus on compassion and its importance in achieving true holistic healing. This is an experience like no other!”
Matthew Bassett, 18, Orewa, NZ
“Prayer and Passion completely changed my outlook on the true power that prayer has. It had always been something that I knew worked and I did, but it was boring. Being a part of this stream gave me new understanding of how prayer is worship and fuels the power of heaven connecting with earth. It will move you to a place of praying out of your relationship with the Lord rather than giving him a list of things you want. You will gain a newfound intimacy with God as your prayer life is propelled.”
Tilly Logan, 21, Australia
“For the past two years God has called me to go deeper in the word and not just let it be a surface level experience with Him. However I didn’t really have the tools, knowledge or understanding for how to go about this. God spoke to me months before I knew I would be able to do the DBS, during lockdown, that those who get into the word would see the face of Jesus. I am realizing that as I get into the word for hours a day with really helpful teachings to go alongside the readings, that is exactly what is happening. I am gaining such a deeper understanding of who God is and who I am, in relation to Him. There have been weeks where doing the homework assignments just completely wrecked me by seeing the love of God and in the moments of reflecting how God has moved so radically in my life. Even when I wasn’t walking closely with Him, He has always been drawing me back into a close relationship with Him by His love and mercy and grace.”
Anika Hochstedler, 26, New York
“I decided to do a DBS because I wanted to know as much about the Bible as I could. And yes, I learned a lot about the Bible, the historical background and so on. But my biggest gain from the DBS was to learn and see the Bible come alive and active in my own life. The Bible used to be a boring book to me, with a bunch of unrelatable stories and letters. During DBS I got to know how to apply God’s Word to my life and how to be discipled, transformed and guided by it. My life changed so much through that and is still changing. I believe that’s what the Bible is for, to lead us closer to God and to help us to become more like Him.”
Silas Bauer, 22, Germany
DBS has been a fulfilled prayer for me. When I was home, I asked the Lord to bring me deeper into his word, and He put that desire on my heart. I knew I would come back to staff, and I thought I would dive into it on my own. I found myself not having the right tools needed to effectively study God’s word. Once DBS became an option, I went for it wholeheartedly. I have been enjoying my time, going deeper than I imagined. God has shown me new things, removed false perspectives of his word and brought me into a deeper understanding of who he is. I have been challenged in many ways during this course, helping me find my place in God’s kingdom. I’ve been able to build a strong foundation with the Word of God. Over all, the Lord created a new heart within me that desires to love, praise, share joy, and bring others into the family of God. I love this school for all that is provided from strong friendships to heart moving moments in small groups and the teachings. My life will never be the same after this school!
Alex Denney, 20, Washington
