On God's Provision

As many of you know, we had a BBQ fundraiser on Saturday to raise money for our youth to go to IMPACT this summer. If you read last week's posts, you might remember that I was struggling with having the faith that God was in control and would give us what we needed.

Well, he did.

We sold all 350 plates and even had to turn people away at the end. With donations and some extra dessert sales, we ended up making over $1600 for our youth ministry. Praise the Lord! Now our kids will be able to afford to go to camp this summer. I'm super excited.

The funny thing about all this is that before the BBQ officially started that day, I knew it was going to be a good day. We needed to sell about 150 plates from people just stopping by the church and buying--not including pre-sold tickets. Before 11 a.m. (when we started), we had already sold over 20 plates. Go figure.

As the day unfolded and we had a successful day, I praised the Lord for his provision. He knew our needs all along. As much as I thought I was in control, God truly was in charge. I was not, and he showed me that very quickly.

I still hate doing fundraisers. I'll be honest. However, I know that through a variety of means, God gives us what we need when we need it. We have to keep in mind, though, that just because we want something, it doesn't necessarily mean that God wants it for us too. His ways are higher than our own, and we must trust his will.

As one of my friends reminded me the other day, whether God gives us what we think we need or not, it is our responsibility to praise him nevertheless. After all, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

May I never again doubt his provision.