Some time ago I learned that if I rely on people to provide for me in God's calling, I will only ever have what they give and will always be a burden ... and be treated like one too. It is difficult to trust God for everyday needs when the bank account is empty and peoples faces are turned away from what you are doing and the financial struggles you have doing it ... it becomes very easy to think "what about me?"
I will tell you that there is nothing wrong with that thought ... God has placed it in our nature to self-preserve ... it's what drives us to do more for ourselves and our loved ones. The issue is to whom we direct the question and whether we are willing to allow others to suffer in our gain. I can tell you that is God is all you have in your stock, than you will have all you need and the best of what God knows you truly want.. you may find that what you have is not needed and what you want God doesn't agree with (and He's right!) ... but you will have all you need. If, however, you look to others to meet your needs or wants, then needs and wants you will always have. Now God loves to use people to bless people ... He rarely rains resources down ... though He certainly can and has even in the modern day. Glen and Marylin Ford (43+years missionaries to Africa) once told me how God sent them the money they desperately needed in tumbleweeds on a mountain road in Africa ... so it happens. But God tends to like to use us to bless each other ... it gives us the opportunity to show love and receive it ... and to partake in each other's joy.
One of the immediate resources we were going to have to secure upon arrival in NY was an AWD or 4WD (All Wheel Drive or Four Wheel Drive) vehicle. The snowy roads in the mountains make traveling with a typical 2WD impossible and dangerous. I have a 4WD truck but my family can't fit in. My other vehicles are both 2WD and one is RWD (Rear) - a snow disaster. The other (my van) will be given to HCTC to be used a "troop carrier" or whatever the need be. So we've been talking about how we would be able to get our hands on a good vehicle that's not ate up with rust yet still at a cost we could afford without taking on a note. We left it in God's hands ... and He was quick to move. Yesterday, we were offered to come pick up an GMC Envoy AWD/4WD ... as a donation!!! What a blessing and totally not even on the radar!!! God meets needs ... He just does. Now we don't have to worry about spending $15K+ ... what a relief!
Do you have a need? Trust God ... don't be afraid to make your need known. Be honest with yourself ... is your need truly a need, or is it a want? To be sure I will tell you that the vehicle was a want ... we could make it without it ... but it will make doing what we do safer and easier and give my wife the ability to get out when she needs to in a safe vehicle. God met it anyways! Do you have wants or desires? Be honest about them! Don't be a salesperson with God!!! He reads straight through anyways. Lay it before Him and see what happens. Look to be a source of blessing in others too because, as I've seen, God doesn't look to kindly on dams of blessings ... they should flow through us.
As we walk throughout our lives, we will rarely see floods of blessings come ... sometimes it can be, and sometimes it can feel like a drought...but that is a lie. There is not a person alive who can't find something to be thankful for, and it's usually those with the least and who seem to suffer the most who are the most thankful for the littlest of things. As I evaluate my life I see God's hand on it continuously and I see that He has sprinkled blessings all along my path ... and I get to discover them in bits and pieces ... if I am looking!
Be thankful to God, be content with His provision, be brave to follow His leading, be obedient to His command, be submitted to His authority, be available for His intervention ... and happy comes easy.
I will continue to post the following prayer and help lists ... thanks for thinking of us!
Please pray for us ... there are still a lot of things to do before our move. Here are some things you can pray for:
Please pray for us ... there are still a lot of things to do before our move. Here are some things you can pray for:
- Wisdom - nuff said
- protection of our gear
- favor with the movers
- time allocation
- physical well-being - I am still recovering from a major shoulder surgery and my knee surgeries failed ... I am in pain and unable to physically do what needs to be done.
- help with the move - we will need and greatly appreciate help with boxing and packing as well as loading our gear into the PODS.
- finances - it will cost @ $8K to move
- protection on the road - no accidents or breakdowns
How can you help? (should you desire to)
- Pray - needs listed above
- If you are local - we could use the help packing, boxing, and loading. The PODS arrive July 16th - but we would like to box everything as we can before then. If you would like to swing by and spend some good time with us before our departure - we'd love the fellowship ... and the help.
- If you are local - we could use help with meals .. especially in late July early August. Our PODS leave July 29th but we roll on August 4th... no dishes or pots ...
- If you would like to help with the cost of the move, please see directly below...
If you would like to help, you can send your tax deductible check to:
Huntersfield Christian Training Center
248 Huntersfield Rd
Prattsville, NY 12468
please memo the check "for Hazard family relocation"
Or, if you prefer giving online below is an easy way to help that is not tax deductible.
Thank you .. my email for PayPal ... or for anything is patrick@patrickhazard.com
Thank you .. my email for PayPal ... or for anything is patrick@patrickhazard.com
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