The Journey of Faith

The following story is taken from "Experiencing God" by Henry Blackaby. This is an awesome reminder of the journey of faith & God's provision. We must always remember Hebrews 11:6, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."

"The church that I pastored sensed we needed God to use us to reach people for Christ throughout our province. The province contained more than 200 cities, towns, and villages. This meant that we would have to start new churches. To do that, we felt God was leading us to call Len Koster to become our minister of mission outreach. He would equip the church to start churches.

"For 14 years Len had pastored small churches. Len was so committed to the Lord that he worked as a service-station attendant for 14 years in order to pastor bivocationally. Without a part-time pastor these churches would have had no pastor at all. In that time Len and his wife, Ruth, had saved seven thousand dollars, hoping one day they would have enough money to buy their own home. When Len felt absolutely convinced he ought to come help us start churches, I said, 'Len, we have no money to move you and no money to pay you.'

"He said, 'Henry, the God who has called me will help me. We will take the money from our savings, and we will move.' Later Len came into my office and said, 'Henry, my wife and I prayed and talked all night. I have worked bivocationally for 14 years, and I have no problem working to provide for my family. But the need here is so great and God's direction is so clear I believe I need to work full-time. My wife and I realized last night that the seven thousand dollars we have in the bank is God's, and He wants us to use that for our living expenses. When we have exhausted that, He will show us what to do next. So Henry, don't worry about my support.'

"When Len left the room, I fell on my face and wept before the Father. I said, 'Father, I don't understand why such a faithful couple must make this kind of sacrifice.' I saw in Len and Ruth a great faith that was demonstrated by their actions.

"Two days later I received a letter from a Presbyterian layman in Kamloops, British Columbia. It simple said, 'I understand a man named Len Koster has come to work with you. God has laid it on my heart to help support his ministry. Enclosed find a check for seven thousand dollars to be used for his support.' When I opened that letter, I got back on my knees and wept before the Father again. This time I asked Him to forgive me for not trusting Him when He told me I could.

"I called Len and said, 'Len, you have placed your life savings on the altar of sacrifice, but God has something else in the bushes. The God who says, 'I am your Provider' has just provided!' Then I told him the news. Do you know what that did in Len's life? Can you imagine what it did in our church's life? We all grew in our faith to believe God. After that we stepped out in faith time and time again, and we saw God do amazing things. We never could have experienced God that way if we had not stepped out in faith to call Len. That experience helped us learn how to trust God."

*As you reflect upon this story and the journey of faith, I want you to ask this question: "What does God have in the bushes for me?"

ENJOY THE JOURNEY!