Jehovah - Jireh: The LORD will Provide

The Lord will provide because of the fact that God is able to foresee our need and He provides for us; God is able to fully provide for us because he not only has all of creation at His disposal, but He also has the inexhaustible resource of Himself (this is amazing when we begin to fully comprehend what this means). Believing that God will provide enables us to sacrifice without reservation i.e. helps us to give freely without holding back.

Here is a story from a friend of mine that I met in Pearlington. She has been there several times and these are her words about God's provision -

On our first trip to Pearlington, my husband and I were given the task of sheetrocking a laundromat for Greater Mt. Zion AME Church. To find nailing blocks needed to install the sheetrock, we had to dig through a pile of trash and debris higher than my head. When we started installing sheetrock, we had to use scraps of sheetrock first before any new sheets could be purchased.

When we reached the point of painting the interior of the structure (having sheetrocked, mudded and sanded the walls and ceiling), we had limited paint available. There was a can with about three inches of white paint for the ceiling and 2/3 of a gallon of yellow for the walls. All our natural knowledge and experience told us that was not nearly enough paint.

As I began to paint the ceiling, I confess I was grumbling at God that the supply was not sufficient. As clearly as I have ever heard a person's voice, I heard this message deep within my spirit: "Get your nose out of My Business, little girl. The outcome is My Business, not yours. Your business is the effort you put into whatever task I give you."

I stopped grumbling and confessed to Him that I know Him to be the Lord of the harvest and the God of increase. I told Him, "You know how much paint there is and how much ceiling needs to be painted. It's up to You how much of that ceiling is painted."

Not only did we have enough! There were two tablespoons of white primer (which we used on the ceiling) left over. Not only did David's supply of yellow paint (2/3 of a gallon) cover the walls but the interior of the door and the woodwork with not enough left over to even rinse from the can.

God's Supply is always sufficient! He has promised us that He will supply the faithful "pressed down and overflowing" and He is good to His Promise.

And God will provide for the little boy in my class who is just beginning to raise his financial support for this trip. There was a time when he didn't think that he would be able to go on this trip and he watched his God begin to provide a way - an answer to his prayer the night before. God is good to His promises and will provide for his financial needs now. Please pray with me for this boy and the others on the team, for God to bring in the support needed for them to make this trip.

Elohim - Strong Creator

My fith grade class curriculum is called "How Majestic is Your Name", a study in the majesty and worth of God. This curriuclum helps the students to know about God through the names that He uses to describe Himself. This is a my favorite and I never tire of teaching it.

The first name of God that we study is Elohim, strong creator. This lesson talks about how God spoke and whatever He said came into being. This is amazing. But just as amazing is God's creativity.

I began to realize that the same God that creates beautiful clouds like these(the ones that make calendars!):

The same God that creates the beauty in those clouds that we love to take pictures of, also created these:

These are some of the clouds that brought in the torrential rains and destructive winds of Hurricane Katrina. There is beauty in these clouds as well as destruction.

God talks about clouds, destruction and hurricanes in His word. This is what He says,

The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
The God of glory thunders,
The LORD over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful,
The voice of the LORD is full of majesty

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
The breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

The Voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of firs.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory.”

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
The LORD sits enthroned as king forever. (Psalm 29: 3-5;7-10, English Standard Version)

God has indeed been at work and the trip to Pearlington is indeed going to happen. As of Sunday, there are at least 12 people going. OK seven of those are from the Ayers family - but what God is doing in the lives of my 5th grade students and their familes is very exciting.

Let me give you a glimpse of what God has been doing!

*One of the moms came up to me at church and told me her daughter was very disappointed that she couldn't go on this trip. She was really looking forward to it until she looked at the calendar and realized it conflicted with something else. Her mom told me, "You will just have to plan another trip."
*Several parents have said that their child has never been interested in anything - until this trip. They were concerned that the child was thinking this would be "a fun" trip. But when they were questioned as to why they want to go on this trip, the answers they gave were things like, "I just want to help someone else." or "I didn't realize that there were still people without houses. Maybe we can help them get into their house, like Mrs. Ayers did." Out of the mouths of children come nuggets of truth which reveal a servant heart.
*Another family is seeing how God is working in their son's life. It looked like they might not be able to come due to a number of things, mainly a miscommunication. On Saturday night the dad and son prayed that God might open a door for them to make the trip. I talked with the dad before class, cleared up the issue and then watched his son in class as I explained some things and answered his questions. His eyes got really big as he realized God was answering his prayers at that very moment. What a precious thing to witness a child make a connection with God. I truly believe that God has something special for this boy!

As I have continued to pray and think about this trip, it has become clear that the goal or mission statement of this trip will be - "The ministry of walking alongside". I did not come up with the phrase - Pastor Rawls from the First Missionary church in Pearlington was the one who I first heard use this phrase. His church has been feeding the volunteers that come to Pearlington a hot lunch for a year or more. Pastor Rawls greets all the volunteers each day at lunch time. I think I heard him use this phrase everyday that we were there.

It has been good to take the kids through what it means to walk alongside. They are learning that we are not going down there to take over or be in charge. We are going, as Christ, to be hands, feet, ears, what ever God calls us to do while we are there. It will be exciting to watch God work as we walk alongside those whose paths have been full of many difficult things.

We are excited about going back to Pearlington, to reconnect with friends we made and to make new ones as well. There is much to be done yet, I am still amazed at all that has happened in such a short amount of time. Please pray for the families that are going on this trip. For most it will mean leaving their comfort zone and stepping into a world they have never experienced, doing things that will stretch their abilites and patience with others.

Here are some current prayer requests:
*There are still some families considering this trip. Pray that God will make it clear to them if this is the trip and the time.
*Pray for those families, including ours, that need to raise funds for this trip. Because this trip has been approved by our church, the church is considered our sending agency, which means that anyone called to help support this trip finacially can send funds to the church and the donations are tax deductable.
*This is the first time that my church has done such a trip -sending 5th grade students and their families on a ministry trip. Most of the trips are for 7th and up. Pray that all we do would bring glory to God and that hearts will be changed.
*We will connect with Charlie Holmes from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Mississippi. They are working on building homes number 7 and 8. Lord willing we will do what we can to assist them. Pray for other jobs as well.
*We also hope to serve a thanksgiving dinner for Pastor Rawls and his church and the long term volunteers as a way to say thanks for all that they have done and to let them know that their work has been appreciated.
*Gary and I have not lead a team before. Please pray that God will give wisdom and grace and that it would be a good experience for us.

Please check back for updates - we hope to keep this blog updated on a weekly basis. Coming soon - A team picture!