When you feel that nudge inside you to give, jump out in faith and DO IT! You may never hear about the impact of your gift (no matter its size), but there are some instances where God gives you a glimpse of how He used your obedience with that nudge from the Holy Spirit.
I work in development for a special ministry that provides hope to the most vulnerable in South Sudan and Uganda. One of our programs is a special scholarship fund for our upper education. Our orphans and community students must apply and show aptitude along with strong Godly character to attain a scholarship. We commit, in faith, to send all who qualify to their respective school. Then, we set the budget for this need and ask God to provide. (I realize this is very opposite from the way the world plans a budget!)
On a random Tuesday in December, I was working through some numbers before we were scheduled to have this special scholarship committee meeting. I needed to show how much we had lined up in recurring gifts so that we could plan the next year accordingly. Before totaling up the number, I received a call from our ministry coordinator who juggles everything at the office. She had just gotten off the phone with a person who committed to give $1,250 each month towards the scholarship program. While this is an AMAZING gift, what God did next is THE BEST PART!
With great joy, I added this new pledged amount to our annual total. On our committee call for the scholarship fund, one member shared the total we had spent in 2019. My jaw dropped. With the new amount factored in from this new donation, the total I shared with everyone matched the number of what we spent in 2019. Everyone on the call made that collective “whoa” sound. With that “coincidence,” I told everyone on the committee about the gift that came through that day to make these numbers so similar. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?! God ALWAYS provides! He is ALWAYS faithful to meet needs.
I am so appreciative of this special gift for our ministry, and personally my faith was encouraged. Isn’t it amazing the ways God reaches hearts with an obedient gift? This money does WAY MORE than provide a top-notch education to an underprivileged student in Africa, it encourages the faith of everyone who is involved.
Blessings,
Megan Thompson, Director of Development
Harvesters Reaching the Nations – Dallas TX – March 2020
