Before we left Rift Valley Academy last summer, Heather and I met with our school’s superintendent for a debriefing about our four years in Africa. Of the many things discussed, one was the future. In essence, we all felt like it would be good for me to get more training regarding ministry, counseling, and leadership in our field. Home assignment seemed like the perfect time to get started with such a program.
Well, the fall in Pennsylvania came and went. I did a little research regarding programs and direction, but nothing really transpired. We were so busy with building new relationships with individuals and churches and refreshing old ones (not to mention the writing and revision process for my second book) that the training got pushed off.
As the new year began, we found ourselves in a new place and a new phase of home assignment. This time, my inquiries into a program for training didn’t stall at all. In fact, everything blew wide open last Wednesday. I’ll spare you every minute detail (hours of meetings and applications), but the Cliff Notes edition would sound like this: Man gets call about seminary program in morning. Man attends first class at night. The End.
Of course, it’s not that simple. It seems that seminary isn’t free. (Who knew?) I guess you could say that I overlooked that aspect of things. My wife patiently dealt with my naivete, as I told her we needed to pray for the answer.
The obvious answer was to send out an email to our prayer team. We could let them know about our need and see how God would move from there. We’ve had dozens of people tell us through the years, “If you ever need anything, let us know,” but it’s hard to know if they are talking about buying us a burrito, giving us an old pair of jeans, or helping us with tuition. In our financial situation as support-based missionaries, this seemed like the best option.
However, as I prayed, I felt the Lord pushing us in a different direction. I felt He was nudging us to wait on Him, to literally do nothing but trust in Him to provide for this particular need. This didn’t make a lot of sense to me (or to Heather); it felt very, very risky to just allow our outstanding bill to loom out there unplanned for. But this is what we decided to do. Just wait and trust.
I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this. Maybe you feel like it’s irresponsible and naïve. Or maybe you feel that something like this is the kind of thing you need more of in your life. Little ways (or maybe big ways?) where you simply get out of the way with all your human understanding and let God be God.
On Friday, I was already doubting my decision. If you’re looking for a storybook portrayal of flawless faith and titanium-tough trust, try the next blog over. But Friday afternoon, an email came in describing three separate financial gifts to our ministry. Taken together, they will pay for 2/3 of my tuition for this winter and spring.
Shock. Total shock. It’s one thing to trust, and it’s another to be rewarded. God is so Other. He’s just so much more different and awesome than anything here on Earth.
(This is not the time or place to theorize about suffering and the silence of God. These are a part of the human experience too. I know that. I might go through the wilderness as I wait for my remaining tuition. Who knows? But this isn’t the place for that; this blog post is a story of God’s gracious ways.)
I hope you will “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8) with me. He loves to come through for us. And while I don’t know what the next five to ten years will bring as I crawl through this degree on two continents, the only thing I know for certain is that He’ll never come through in the same way twice. He’s too creative and magnificent for that.
For more information on the training program, click Bethel Seminary.
