I spent the most of today going through my “To Do List”. I like these kind of lists because it makes me feel like I have “accomplished” something – it must be some sort of Type A trait. Anyway, I answered several emails, made several phone calls to churches that I had contacted my mail earlier in the week, and a few other odds and ends. Then, to finish out the day, I called a dear friend whom I have wanted to touch base with for several weeks. I justified the call because he said he had some mission related questions for me.
Fortunately he was available to talk. We exchanged the usual pleasantries and then he asked, “how is it going with support raising?” - a pretty common question these days by those who are concerned about us. My answer to him kind of surprised both of us. I told him that it was going pretty good, but that “strategy” and “planning” were pretty much pointless. Since he is a Professional Planner and Strategist (really, he is) he was interested to find out exactly what I meant.
I shared with him that even though it was important for me to be diligent and faithful in completing my tasks, they appeared to have very little impact on the outcomes. No matter how organized and dedicated I was to contacting “mission minded” churches or individuals, I was surprised over and over by where the support was coming from. I told him that it was humbling to realize that nothing in regards to support raising depended on me. I explained that I was getting a better handle on Proverbs 16:1 –
a man makes his plans, but the Lord guides his feet.
Now, lest anyone accuse me of “fatalism” or believing that if I just “have faith” and sit around, God will raise up our total support, I strongly refute that logic. We have a responsibility to faithfully discharge our duties. I believe we are to use the skills, gifts, and talents that God has given us to do our work with excellence. If I have gifts in administration then I better be using them. However, the lesson I am learning is that the results do not depend on me; they depend FULLY on God and His perfect providence. Again, I make my plans, but He guides my feet.
So, I look forward to next week to see how God guides my feet. I will continue to plan, strategize, and discharge my duties of emailing, calling, communicating, and presenting our call, but I will try to depend more and more on the truth that the outcomes are TRULY in His hands.
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