SIMGo: My budget story

Today was such a great day. So many questions answered, a lot of great knowledge to take in, and many smiles and laughter to fuel the soul. There is one story in particular I want to share because I want to remember just how real the moments in this story felt as well as how “tender”, to use a friend’s description tonight, our God is to each of us.

This afternoon, I had my first individual financial meeting. I have to admit, I was really looking forward to this meeting because I knew many of my questions were going to get answered. (They were J ) But something happened during this meeting. I had thought that when I talked to my adviser about the numbers that many would decrease. I felt confident the number would go down. It actually went up, quite significantly, and in the moments, I can still remember the amount of peace I felt knowing this was God’s ministry, God’s money, and therefore what numbers were put in front of me was not something I needed to be overwhelmed by. I just kept saying, “okay, that make sense…over and over” and my eyes watched as one increase made 5 other things increase as well. I left this meeting really encouraged that God was going to do great things in these next couple months and I’m so excited to get to see it happen. But I didn't have to wait long!

When I got done with my meeting I had about 40 minutes before the next scheduled event and I had this overwhelming desire to want to begin my bible study I had brought with me. I have had it for a long time, sitting on a bookshelf at home and not really feeling ready to begin. I brought it with me expecting to begin the first day I got here, I was such a zombie, even looking at the book and the big words on the front blurred. Sunday was such a fun day of getting to know people and doing fun things that I just couldn’t pull away and do the study. However, God had it purposed for today.

I quickly walked back to the dorms, got the bible study book out, my bible and a pencil. I turned on my Shane & Shane Pandora radio station and went to town. I didn’t get far before the tears fell. Here’s the story from the study called, “Experiencing GOD: Knowing and Doing the Will of God” by Henry & Richard Blackaby & Claude King.

Vancouver World’s Fair

     When the World’s Fair was coming to Vancouver, our association of churches was convinced God wanted us to try to reach the 22 million people who would come to our city. We had about 2,000 members in our churches. How in the world could our little group make much impact on such a mass of tourists from all over the world?

     Two years before the fair, we began to set our plans in motion. The total income for our associated was $9,000. The following year it grew to $16,000. The year of the World’s Fair, we set a budget for $202,000. We had commitments that would provide 35 percent of that budget. Sixty-five percent of it depended on prayer. Can you operate a budget on prayer? Yes. But when you do that, you are attempting something only God can do. What do most of us do? We set the practical budget, which represents what we can do. Then we might set a second hope or faith budget. The budget we really trust and use, however, is the one we can reach by ourselves. We do not really trust God to make a practice difference in what we do.

     As an association of churches, we decided God had definitely led us to the work that would cost $202,000. That became our operating budget. All of our people began praying for God to provide for everything we believed He had led us to do during the World’s Fair. At the end of the year, I asked our treasurer how much money we had received. From Canada, the United States, and other parts of the world we had received $264,000. People from all over North America assisted us. During the fair we became a catalyst to see almost 20,000 people accept Jesus Christ. You cannot explain that except in terms of God’s intervention. Only God could have done that. He accomplished it with a people who had determined to be servants and were moldable and available for their Master’s use. (pg 7, emphasis mine)

My budget felt like $202,000 and I felt like God spoke directly to me in this moment that whatever I bring to Him in prayer, He can do, not for me, and not for something I want to do, but for Him and what He has planned for His glory. Tonight, I am praising my God for this amazing reassurance that I am right where I am supposed to be. I’m at this training to prepare me for something that is so much bigger than I can ever imagine nor feel capable to accomplish. But I know my God can and because my God dwells within me, together, we can do anything.

God, I love you.

Jesus, I love you.

Holy Spirit, I love you.