His Abundant Provision
by: Tabatha Miller, Connected Champion, Pine Bluff
This foster care work continues to stretch my faith in unexpected ways. This spring, one of our local children's ministers reached out about making Easter baskets for local foster families. This children's minister has a heart for children and is a fierce advocate for those impacted by foster care and adoption. She began to detail her thoughts, and the project felt daunting with other pressing needs. Truthfully, it felt most daunting because I could not orchestrate it. We would have to pray and trust God to provide. This children's minister's enthusiastic trust of God encouraged me that we should do this project. We would share the opportunity with our local churches, and we would pray for God to provide. She reinforced what the Lord has been teaching me, as I have been reading The Life of Trust - Being a Narrative of the Lord's Dealings - Dr. George Muller's autobiography.
Dr. Muller lived in the 1800s, serving as a minister of the gospel, evangelist, and the leader of an orphan care ministry. What is challenging about Dr. Muller's autobiography is how he sought the Lord in prayer for provision for the orphans under his care. He did not try to make it happen or orchestrate the situation. Dr. Muller relied on the Lord for his own salary and all the monetary needs for the vast ministry that he stewarded. In his autobiography, Dr. Muller challenges all believers, regardless of the particulars of ministry, to pray fervently and then to truly trust the living God to provide. Dr. Muller writes that God is willing to answer the prayers of His children and do far more abundantly than we can ask or think. Dr. Muller challenges us - "Do but prove the faithfulness of God" (p. 167).
With Dr. Muller's challenge in mind, I began to pray for God to move His church to provide for this project. We shared the opportunity to donate, but we did not orchestrate. God did - He orchestrated this project. God moved the hearts of His people and oh, how He did abundantly more than we thought. On April 6th, we got together as a community - women from different churches and our wonderful DCFS community liasion. It was then that we all saw the vast donations laid out from local churches - so many donations that we did not have enough baskets! We put together baskets and gift bags for 27 local foster families. This included our local Connected foster families, but we also got to minister to our local DCFS families. Because of the abundance, we then were able to fill several more baskets to give to our local DCFS staff either for their family or for a family they serve.
Each of these baskets were prayed for and prayed over. Each of these baskets contained a gospel resource. We shared with the foster families that we did this because Christ loves them. We are celebrating Easter with them because His love compels us to do so. As we finished the "packing party", each woman there praised God for His abundant grace towards us, seen on the cross first and then through this project.
Although the packing party was a tremendous blessing, my favorite part came when we delivered the baskets on Good Friday. Many children were home due to the holiday. The first home I stopped at was a local DCFS family that I got to meet for the first time. I shared with the foster momma about our ministry and how the local churches came together to bless their family this Easter. Then the foster momma called to the babies at home - 3 and 5 years old - saying, "Look at this basket -it came from church!" Those babies ran up, all excited, and I saw them experience Christ's love through His local church. Because I saw the Lord so abundantly provide for these families' physical needs, it reinforced my trust in Him for their spiritual needs. We pray that these baskets go far beyond the tangible needs to opening the eyes and hearts to the good news of Christ's accomplishment on the cross.
As we walk out our callings as Christ's ambassadors, this project reminded me of how good our God is. He calls us to obedience and to stretching of our faith. But then He meets us in that. He proves His faithfulness. He proves, once again, that He is our Father, abundantly providing all that is needed for these children in care and for us. What abundant grace He lavishes upon us! As Dr. Muller says, "Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you." May we be encouraged to press on in this ministry, knowing that the orchestration and the provision are up to Him.
Citation
The Life of Trust - Being a Narrative of the Lord’s Dealings. (2019). Compass Circle. (Original work published 1861)