“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4: 6, 7
“Trust Me.” That’s one of God’s messages to His children woven throughout the Scriptures. It’s more than instruction. More than an act of obedience required of us. More than a promise. Trust is earned. And God repeatedly provides proof to His children that He is worthy of our trust.
In 15 of the 17 years this ministry has operated, we have ended the year with only a few hundred dollars in the bank. Yet, each of those years we have had enough; just enough to meet every need, pay every bill, assist every household God sent to us, minister to every individual. And the manner in which enough was received was always done in such a way that no one with eyes to see and ears to hear could doubt that God had provided. He has earned our trust a thousand times over.
Baby steps. In the beginning God only asked us to take baby steps. He only asked us to assist a few hundred households that first year. It’s laughable now to recall how anxious we were back then. Today we serve that many households monthly. But God provided then. And He has provided every step of the way; most times in ways we could have never expected. He earned our trust. The more we trust Him the more peace we have. We learn not to be anxious about anything. We’re still growing, still learning. No more baby steps, but God still holds our hand.
One of the unexpected ways God has provided came during the pandemic. We applied for every COVID Relief Grant or program we qualified for. As a result we were able to finish the last two years with approx. $25,000 in the bank. What a blessing! But we knew these were only a one time deal.
We have stretched those proceeds in every way possible. Nevertheless those funds are now depleted.
We will finish 2022 having distributed more food to more households, and more individuals within those households, than at any time in our 17 year history. (In August we served 905 Households, the most we’ve ever served in one month.) It appears we will have a 25% increase, the largest one year increase we’ve ever experienced. And we will likely have only a few hundred dollars, if that, in the bank to begin 2023. There’s no reason to believe 2023 won’t be just as demanding as 2022.
As children of the Most High God we are not expected to ignore the facts. And the fact is, aside from those one time only grants, the monetary support we’ve received has not come close to meeting the increased demand over the past three years. It is also a fact that God is not asleep. He has always provided. He will always provide. And how He provides or when He provides is not up to us. We are to trust Him. We hope you will join us in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, in presenting our needs to the Lord. Let us not be anxious for anything. Let us pray to be used by Him for His purpose. Amen.
Our Second Sunday Fellowships are held at the mission on the 2nd Sunday of each month at 5:00 pm. If your church doesn’t meet on Sunday evening or you don’t have a church home, please join us for a time of praise, prayer, and Bible Study. We’d love to have you.
As we move into the holiday season things will get even busier. If you find yourself with some free time we are always looking for volunteer servants. You can get a Volunteer Application off our website, or stop by and pick one up, fill it out, get it back to us, and we’ll put you to work.
Please keep in your prayers; all those we serve, our supporters, our volunteers, our Board, those who do not know Christ as their Lord and Savior, those who proclaim the Gospel, our nation, our national, state, and local leaders, and please remember us. Thank you.
Food for thought;
You don’t have to be a great historian to realize America is not the nation it once was. There’s still little doubt that we remain the best of all nations on the planet, but that’s not really saying much these days.
Clearly we are sliding off the Judeo-Christian foundation our founding fathers worked so deliberately to build. Some would say the secular winds have blown us completely off our foundation and onto the evil sands of foolishness. A case could be made that we are a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah.
Is it possible, I wonder, that America is not yet a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah? After all surely there is at least one righteous man among us? I don’t think the self-righteous count, but I know more than a few Godly men and women. And I’m betting you do too.
So, if America is not Sodom and Gomorrah perhaps a modern day Nineveh? Could it be that what America needs is not the preaching of the Social Justice Gospel or politically correct rules of language shouted from the roof tops? Perhaps what America needs is an army of Jonahs boldly proclaiming redemption through the Gospel of Jesus Christ? It turns out even a reluctant Jonah will work.
Don’t want to sound crazy here, but maybe if those who are the Body of Christ accepted the Great Commission as more than a great suggestion, lives would change?
I realize that eventually Nineveh returned to its old ways. And eventually Christ will return and this world will be made new. But until then…perhaps we were made for such a time as this.
Thanks for your support.
Be Blessed,
Deon and Kendra