Birds & Flowers : A Principle for Provision & Support

Por: T. | |

"...Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows ...they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ...if that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!"

(Luke 12:7-28)

In this economic climate of gloom and uncertainty, almost everyone worries about providence and securing its guarantee. As servants of God and workers for His harvest, we are not immune to such concerns.

Is it wrong to be concerned about being materially provided for? We believe not. However, we do believe when we allow such concerns to overtake our trust in the good Lord, we give permission for the World and the Enemy to assault and cripple our faith in Him. He knows what we need, when we need, and He has promised to give when we ask.

Three years ago, days before my wife and I embarked on our reconnaissance trip, our Lord handed us the verses Proverbs 30:7-9 as our personal prayer of providence from Him. I had long pondered and studied these verses. Naturally, my understanding and insight into this prayer then was as shallow as my faith in trusting and depending upon Him.

Uprooting our family, leaving all we had and sojourning in the wilderness for the past two years has become a practical lesson in living out this prayer commissioned for us by our Lord. The intended spiritual outcome is best explained by former Christian & Missionary Alliance pastor, A. W. Tozer. He wrote about the second of five keys to spiritual power:

"Now the second vow is: Never own anything. I do not mean by this that you cannot have things. I mean that you ought to get delivered from this sense of possessing them. This sense of possessing is what hinders us. All babies are born with their fists clenched, and it seems to me it means: “This is mine!” One of the first things is “mine” in an angry voice. That sense of “This is mine” is a very injurious thing to the spirit. If you can get rid of it so that you have no feeling of possessing anything, there will come a great sense of freedom and liberty into your life.

Now don't think that you must sell all that you have and give it to charity. No, God will let you have your car and your business, your practice and your position, whatever it may be, provided you understand that it is not yours at all, but His, and all you are doing is just working for Him. You can be restful about it then, because we never need to worry about losing anything that belongs to someone else. If it is yours, you're always looking in your hand to see if it's still there. If it's God's you no longer need to worry about it.

Let me point out some things you'll have to turn over to God. Property is one thing. Some of the dear Lord's children are being held back because there's a ball and chain on their legs. If it's a man, it's his big car and fine home. If it's a woman it's her china and her Louis XIV furniture and all the rest. Take that vase for instance. There it stands, and if anybody knocked it off and broke it the poor owner would probably lose five years from her life!"

Five Vows for Spiritual Power - A. W. Tozer

I have been kindly advised before that, "no money, no ministry". This is a practical reality pricking the consciousness of freshman ministry workers, maybe even haunting the memory of frontline full-time veterans. In some organisations, the level of provision and resource has become a policy that governs the suspension and resumption of ministry activities for staff.

What is a wage reasonable for a worker of God? Duties and requirements are different, but should all workers earn the same or do some deserve more than others? Where will such support come and how regular can we expect it to be? What if pledged support does not meet our salary mark: can we resign like marketplace professionals or do we negotiate for a better contract with our Heavenly Father who employs us?

If we step into a career, even if it is ministry, it is reasonable to expect a livelihood from our work. It is also reasonable that no one should be coerced into labour for the Lord and expect no wages. The remuneration may not be commensurate to what we can command from the marketplace, but wages are still wages. It is due to us by civil law: it belong to us by common ethics and moral sense. It cannot be denied us, because we deserve it. It is ours to own, to plan, to spend the way we choose. WE EARNED IT!

I have pondered the above questions for many months. I have suffered the cold-turkey withdrawal effects of leading a household of six without a steady income from a stable job. I have prayed to our Father for wisdom and strength for what is coming ahead. I have cried out to Him out in the midst of this insecurity and uncertainty of stepping into full-time service to Him. Yet, His repeated tender reply has always been:

"(I) who did not spare (My) own Son, but gave Him up for (you)—how will (I) not also, along with Him, graciously give (you) all things?"

(Romans 8:32).

How do we live by His grace yet expect wages due to us by right? Herein lies the purpose for our current sojourning:

To walk by Faith but not by Sight;

To live by Grace but not by Right.

Looking back, we can now begin to understand the training and equipping we need, to be unhindered even by basic concerns and to be constantly effective for our Lord.

Jesus Christ is Lord and our God will ALWAYS meet ALL our needs according His glorious riches. When the chips are down and the piggy bank is empty, do we stop the Lord's commissioned work? Our call to serve our God, to minister one another, stops for no one and especially not for Mammon! Hallelujah! Cash is NOT King: Jesus Christ IS! Our Father had given His only Son freely to us, Him who is infinitely better than cash.

We are learning not to live nor serve by cash terms any more. Yes, it is close to impossible persuading landlords and utility companies to take payment in used clothing, second-hand books or home-cooked food. These bills are in cash terms only and we render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. But many of our living needs are also met through the grace and compassion of those who love and obey our Father.

We have brothers and sisters in-Christ who have sacrifically supplied to our financial needs. We have also been blessed through love gifts of food, clothes, books and generous offers of accommodation and automobiles. We had saints who quietly sought solutions to our needs through their own contacts and referrals. We have our family-in-Christ who lovingly laundered and folded our clothes. And we have our prayer warriors who constantly present supplications for us before our Lord.

God bless them all! These are blessings money can never buy, but only purchased by the blood of Christ!

Our Father gave us Jesus Christ through Whom all things were made (Isaiah 66:2; John 1:3; Hebrews 1:2) and Who is Lord of lords over all. Our eyes are no longer fixed on that bit of oil in the jar or the handful of flour, but on the twelve and seven basketfuls of fish and bread pieces! We are led ever deeper into trust and dependence only upon God, and along with, it our conviction to live out the prayer of Proverbs 30:7-9.

This is our training for this season, after which we pray we will be found ready and trustworthy by our Lord to return back to the marketplace, no longer as professionals earning their deserved wages while testifying to the Gospel, but as faithful stewards to all things spiritual and material for the advancement of His Kingdom.

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.

(Philippians 4:12-13)

God be praised and His Son glorified.

T.