It is very tempting for each of us to plan our finances in a way that we can completely control every aspect. Trust only in ourselves. Take no or little risk.
What if God calls us to give in a way that stretches us beyond our comfort zone? What if He calls us to accomplish a task that we don’t know how to fund? Are we foolish to take such a risk?
That depends on whether or not you trust God and your ability to hear from Him.
We can often get wrapped up in how big a challenge appears. We can think as if we have to make it happen all by ourselves. We do well to consider, however, that if God is the one who told us to go accomplish the mission, then He already knows how He will enable us to accomplish it. He will provide. We need only listen and obey, even if we don’t see how He will finish the task with us and through us.
The Cost of the Tabernacle
21This is the number of the things for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were numbered according to the command of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 22Now Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD had commanded Moses. 23With him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and a skillful workman and a weaver in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and fine linen.
24All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the wave offering, was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 25The silver of those of the congregation who were numbered was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; 26a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for each one who passed over to those who were numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. 27The hundred talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the sanctuary and the sockets of the veil; one hundred sockets for the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. 28Of the 1,775 shekels, he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their tops and made bands for them. 29The bronze of the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels. 30With it he made the sockets to the doorway of the tent of meeting, and the bronze altar and its bronze grating, and all the utensils of the altar, 31and the sockets of the court all around and the sockets of the gate of the court, and all the pegs of the tabernacle and all the pegs of the court all around.
Think about how overwhelming the mission could or perhaps did appear to Moses and the Israelites to build the tabernacle. They were in the desert, not in a land of plenty! Yahweh laid out very specific instructions and a grand scale for the tabernacle. The people could easily have thrown up their hands and made excuses why it was not possible. They could have quit even before they started. They did not. And consider what they accomplished!
Are you facing a mission or challenge that God has called you to complete? Does it feel overwhelming? Do not be discouraged or find reasons to reject the challenge. Instead, trust in Him, seek Him, and obey His instructions and guidance. You will be amazed at what He can accomplish through His people.
Want to learn more about how to pray effectively? This includes listening as well as asking… try the following resources:
- HearingFromJesus.org /Learning To Pray Effectively – teaching on effective prayer based on scripture
- HearingFromJesus.org/categories/HearingFromGod – collection of devotions and scripture referencing hearing from God
- Experiencing God, by Henry and Richard Blackaby, is a modern classic that has sold millions of copies worldwide. Experiencing God is based on seven Scriptural realities that teach us how to develop a true relationship with the Creator. By understanding how God is working through us even as we try to fathom His ways, we can begin to clearly know how to relate to Him.
- Experiencing Prayer with Jesus, by Henry and Norman Blackaby, takes you into what many aren’t experiencing in their prayer life – intimacy with God. Experiencing Prayer with Jesus is not simply more information about prayer, but rather a leading into a life-changing encounter with Christ.
- Hearing God’s Voice, by Henry and Richard Blackaby, is for those who are ready to listen. Henry Blackaby and his son Richard help those who are listening to discern the voice of God, to identify ways He speaks, and to respond to His revelations of His will.
Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way and use it for His glory rather than your own. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .