Trust is The Same Across the World

“If any should read these lines who have come into positions of extreme difficulty, through following the simple path of obedience, let them not look at God through difficulties, as we see the sun shorn of splendor through a fog; but let them look at difficulties through God. Let them put God between themselves and the disasters which threaten them. Let them cast the whole responsibility upon Him. Has He not thus brought you into difficulties, that He may have an opportunity of strengthening your faith, by giving some unexampled proof of His power? Wait only on the Lord, trust also in Him… He will provide.” – F.B. Meyer

I was sitting in the sun doing my bible study yesterday when I read this quote, the birds roosting in the gorgeous tropical trees about the garden providing background music (I LOVE the sun here. It makes me go straight to golden, no sunburn necessary in between :)) in between meetings with various potential staff. I’ve just started a new Beth Moore workbook—The Patriarchs. The lesson was on Abraham and how they settled in Egypt for awhile during a famine. Scared for their lives, Abraham passed his wife Sarai off as his sister to the pharaoh, who quite fancied her, and let her be taken into his harem, as it gave their entire party favour and security. Of course, the Lord fought for Sarai, and made the pharaoh’s whole household ill on her behalf until the pharaoh was made known of the fact that he’d been deceived and rectified it (You can read this story for yourself in Genesis 12:10-20).

The lesson was about trust. Does it not look as if Abraham was just simply ‘freaked out’ and desperate and scrambling for any way he could avoid disaster (in this case, starving and letting his whole family starve in the famine)? He was a man of God; surely in his heart of hearts he knew that lying to save themselves wasn’t the best way forward. But surely too, trusting God and choosing obedience seemed the much harder way when this quick fix was in view, especially as acting with integrity held potentially fatal consequences.

As we work toward settling Racham Ministries in-- preparing the home to begin taking in Gabi’s little ones hopefully at the beginning of February, if not before—we are running in to so many unforeseen costs and stresses. I suppose it was to be expected, only working a budget on theory before, and never knowing what the actual experience would bring once in Uganda. Yesterday we were meeting with potential staff (indispensable people, like the security guard….) as well as getting an estimate for putting in the kitchen and spent time adjusting the budget to find that it simply won’t stretch. You can only imagine the disappointment of the realization that God has brought Gabs this far only to face the pressure of too small a budget. And it’s all pressing.

The first reaction is to fall into discouragement. Or attempt to cut corners however risky (like cutting medical expenses out of the budget to reassign the money elsewhere :() The first reaction is to find some way to humanly fix things, to find a way to stand on steady ground again.

But the deeper reaction we know we must choose… is to trust Him. To look at the problems THROUGH God, instead of looking at God through them, like “the sun shorn of its splendour through the fog”. We must take a stand to put God (knowing all that He is and all that we aren’t) between ourselves and the impossibilities before us, knowing that with God there is no such thing as impossible. Let them put God between themselves and the disasters which threaten them. ”Let them cast the whole responsibility upon Him. Has He not thus brought you into difficulties, that He may have an opportunity of strengthening your faith, by giving some unexampled proof of His power?” How little we would worry and stress if we truly took to heart the fact that “nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37), as He has shown us again and again and again and again throughout history, and throughout our own personal walks with Him, whether they’ve taken place in America, England, Sweden, Romania, N.Ireland, or Uganda… to name a few places He’s asked me to trust Him just in my walk alone :)

Oh Lord, we are trusting You. Strengthen our feeble little threads of faith. Provide for Your kingdom work with Racham. You have our willing hands, You’ve walked our feet in obedience all the way to this beautiful plot of land in Your Africa from whatever corner of Your world. Now may You come through once again to the praise of Your great name. You know all the needs of the children you mean for Racham to reach out to. And your word says that you “will give [us] all [we] need from day to day if [we] live for [You] and make the Kingdom of God [our] primary concern” (Matt. 6:33).Thank You for Your extravagant love. Teach us to trust You in all that You are with all that we are… Amen.

Please pray for Racham with us, friends. We’re expecting a timely miracle of provision to continue this work!

May you move to know this incredible God, may you let yourself experience the love of this Lover. O, how you and your life will never be the same…!
Love from Uganda,
Leah

“…Freely we’ve received
Now freely we must give
We must go
Live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken
We must go…”
-- Tim Hughes, ‘God of Justice’