I have had the joy to work with Sarah Barnard from the time she did her Discipleship Training School with us and her contribution to the work we have led here in Constanta has been phenomenal, and I and the team here has much to thank Sarah for. As she now has moved on to live in Australia with here husband it is a prilvige to have here contribute to on missioninnovation.info. Thank you Sarah for being a part of our team for more than 10 years, and for all the work you put in to the ministry here and thank you for your friendship!
The Crazy Generosity of God
I have been pondering lately the faithfulness and generosity of God. Have you ever tried to out give God? I don’t think anyone could. He has so graciously given us His only Son who laid His life down for us. (John 3:16) Take a moment to ponder the generosity of this gift. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8) Not only did He give His Son but He also gave us the Holy Spirit that we would not be left as orphans. (John 14:18) That alone is enough but that makes for a short blog post so I will continue.
Over 11 years ago I started working with a Christian mission organization called Youth With a Mission or YWAM. I knew God had called me to long-term missions, but I wasn’t exactly too keen to work with YWAM at first. My first question was, what do you mean there is absolutely no salary? I am responsible to raise all my support? I researched other mission groups or church organizations to go through and none of them fit what I wanted to do. Funny how God has a sense of humor and 11 years later here I am working with YWAM. Often people will ask me, “So does YWAM pay you a salary?” When I tell them no, they give me a quizzical look mixed with a bit of fear. I agree this isn’t the normal way to live. It’s not always easy and I know God doesn’t call us to the easy life. But I can testify more than I could 11 years ago that God is so faithful! He is always more than enough and He cares as a good Father would for His children.
In 2010 I did a School of Biblical Studies in Sweden. Just a few weeks before the school was going to start I found myself with not enough money to pay my first quarter of tuition or enough to buy a plane ticket. As I was home packing my bags in faith, a friend came to my door with around 400 euros that my Romanian church had collected for me. This was enough to cover my flight and some of my tuition! Over the course of the school I was not only blessed with all my tuition fees but had money that I was able to give away to help others with their tuition fees.
Another great story and personally my favorite! Who would have thought I would meet my husband (a wonderful English man) in Kolkata, India of all places. But all I can point to is God. I had many people praying for me and the desires of my heart to one day be married. I believe God heard every one of those prayers and brought my husband and I together.
What are some things you are asking God for? He wants us to come to Him with all our needs or desires. This may not always be how we perceive or want Him to answer. But He is a good, good father and knows what his children need.
We have a beautiful example of generosity in our Heavenly Father. How can we reflect His generosity? He wants us to be generous and faithful to others just as He is towards us.
Everyday I experience the riches of knowing God, the deep love of family and friends, and the blessing to give out to others. Ask yourself how can I be generous today? Maybe it’s being generous with your time or words. Or going out of your way to help someone in need. Whatever it is, you will somehow be reflecting God’s character of generosity.
Find someone in your life and share a story of how God has been faithful and generous to you. I think you might find that their faith is built up and yours as well!
Sarah Barnard