not the wallet

the bills, at times, come unexpectedly. i know i am not the only one who experiences this phenomenon. this last summer we had our everyday bills meet our end of the school year bills. they all had a fight and ultimately the budget lost.

on the week of july 19th 2005 i witnessed a pretty amazing moving by the lord. this was the week the lord pressed upon a few people to give extravagantly towards a ministry trip liz and i took to denmark. it was a trip that changed our life and gave us a greater perspective for missions upon the european landscape. so, now that we live in belgium, as missionaries, you can see why it was such a great moment in our lives. i logged this monumental moment in my journal that same week and read it in my quiet time (periodically i go back through my journal entries on the particular day that coincides). i was so full of joy reading that entry. i encourage EVERYONE to write down these profound moments of god's handiwork for this exact reason, remembering and rejoicing. we ended up receiving nearly $1500 in a week time span. the lord moving different people, some people we knew, some we didn't even know until that moment.

you can imagine how bummed i was after having a wonderful meditation and receiving a few bills in the mail, that were unexpected. "lord, why?" i thought to myself. what could i do? nothing, well, nothing that would involve my own strength. i needed a miracle. i did the only thing i knew to do...pray. i prayed throughout the day, without ceasing that god would make a way for this money to come in. i was in constant dialogue with my maker.

that evening i received a request to skype with a dear friend and a donor to our ministry. she didn't allow much chit chat to happen before she was out with her intentions, "how much do you need?" she said. i was hesitant because she already gives so much and i was not comfortable with confessing our needs, for bills, that is not the missionary code, you don't raise money for bills. she wouldn't let me beat around the bush. "zach," she said, "how much do you need?" i told her the few bills we had and she said, "i am wiring money to cover it all right now as we speak."

"what," i said, "are you kidding me!?!?!?"

because of god's faithfulness to his people we are able to make ends meet. i will leave you with the last line of the entry i had for his faithfulness 8 years ago...

the lord is strong and mighty, true to those who believe in his name, trust in him, and not their wallet!