And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8
“But in addition to these conversations and discussions, something else was happening. People were finding it hard to shake off what they were living through. They were there while while we were praying for things they later found had been given… They were being given (not by us, but by God’s answers to prayers) a demonstration that God exists…
It was a combination which could never be ‘planned’ or ‘put on’ as an exhibit…it had to be real…a completely new work…would never have been possible if we had not been uprooted completely in every way, and if in that uprooting we had not decided to pray for God’s solution and leading every step of the path as it wound through unknown territory.
We also prayed that if it grew, God would send us the workers of His choice, rather than our trying to advertise or get people to help us…So not to advertise, but simply to pray that God will send those of His choice, and keep other away, is a different way of doing things.
We don’t say everyone ought to work this way, we simply say we feel we were led by God to do this as a demonstration that He is able to bring the people to a place — even a tiny out-of-the-way place…and only to bring the ones He wants to have there for His purposes.”
Edith Schaeffer in “L’Abri” in Celtic Daily Prayer (New York: Harper Collins, 2002) 73.
God is able to make grace abound to us.
When we demonstrate God’s ability, we bring Him glory. Imagine if every church or ministry had this focus. Edith Schaeffer, the wife of famous author and speaker, Francis Schaeffer, here reports a snippit of the backstory of the retreat center, L’Abri.
What does this testimony stir in you? Do you pray for God’s solution every step of the way at whatever church or ministry you serve?
What struck me was the fact that God’s people will often be led to do things in a countercultural manner and not even realize when or how He has supplied. “Unknown territory” is just that to us, but not to God. He not only knows the territory through which He is guiding us, He invites us to the adventure of depending on grace to navigate it.
So what about you? What purpose has God called you to pursue and how might He be calling you to trust Him to accomplish it in a manner that demonstrates that He is able?