Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33
“A man had a vision to start a school for underprivileged children in Nepal. On one occasion, this man shared his vision with an American professor, and the professor said to him that he was willing to help him. Next day, the professor went to meet him, and handed him a box, and said, “Here is help for you to start a school.” The man was very happy to receive the box, but his happiness vanished the moment he saw the things inside the box. The box contained pencils, pens, notebooks and some textbooks. The man was not expecting these items from the American, but he was expecting dollars. When the professor saw his disappointment, he said to him, “You need these items to teach them.”
The purpose of this story is not to condemn this particular man, rather to show the transformation of my understanding of God’s providence. This story transformed my understanding and my whole life. When we think of ministry or God’s work, immediately our minds run after bigger things whereas we forget the available or smallest resources at our disposal to glorify God or tools to start a ministry. This had shaped our orphanage. We started with nothing, trusting God as the source when He calls us for ministry. Every day we have experienced His providence throughout ten years. He has been and will be our Provider till His return.”
Deepak Pradhan, student at Torch Trinity Graduate University in his Philosophy of Biblical Stewardship Paper dated 2 July 2017.
Pradhan shared this story in his paper and I had to pass it along. He’s the first student I have ever had who, along with his wife, has run an orphanage for over a decade, so as you can imagine, he had miraculous stories of God’s provision like George Mueller of Bristol, England. At present his wife is back in India caring for 21 orphans while he completes his seminary degree.
After growing in his understanding of biblical stewardship and Christian generosity through the Scriptures in the class, he shared that he plans to champion these biblical truths as a torchbearer in the state of Assam in Northeast India. He wants to inspire others to focus not on the financial resources they don’t have but to faithfully use “the available and smallest resources” they do have for God.