Real Faith: How It Works

Last December, a man that I'd been counseling introduced me to a former colleague of his.  He said he "knew that the two of us would like each other."  So I met this gentleman for lunch and we did indeed find much in common.  It was quite a pleasure to meet him, and I left the lunch thinking that this is someone I'd like to stay networked with from now on.

A few days after my blind date, a package arrived in the mail from my new friend.  It was a brand new book, with a note that said he felt led to send it to me.  I have to admit that I found that rather odd.  I mean, why would someone I just met go out and buy a book, much less go to the trouble of mailing it to me?  It didn't make sense.  At any rate, I put the book on the nightstand by my bed, in the pile of other things I want to read when I have time.

A few months later, I finally got to read this particular book.  It was mostly a story of George Muller's ministry and his faith.  Overall the book was a good read.  But one aspect of it was truly riveting for me.  It was the fact that throughout his entire life, George Muller never did any fund raising for his ministries or the multiple orphanages he'd set up and ran.  Mind you, Muller was a man with a big vision for ministry, a big heart, and expensive ministries to run.  So the fact that prayer was his only method for fund raising seemed quite remarkable indeed.

I can honestly say that I hadn't known George Muller's story ... at least not that particular aspect of it it.  And as I completed reading, it turned out to be the most helpful book I've ever read in terms of casting vision for my personal faith.  Let me explain about that.

This year (2012) has been our worst financial year ever.  My wife and I have large commitments to ministry, and whatever could go wrong financially did.  It seems like we've taken one (financial) blow after another --- with money just gushing from our home.  So it was rather timely that I'd read a book which shifted my paradigm with regard to funding ministry commitments.

God showed me, through the book on George Muller, that I've mostly leaned on myself for our needs.  It would be fair to say that I've treated prayer more like insurance in case my own efforts might fail. That would be - in case you're not clear - sin.  Seriously.  It smacks of pride, and lack of faith in God's provision and timing.  At the very least.

Through reading this one little book, I've got a new perspective.  It's one that I very much needed to acquire.  I'm busy now repenting of my sin, and trying to quiet the noise of my financially demanding life ... so that I can focus on God and His provision ... which has always been perfect. 

As I look back now, I see that perhaps the blind date lunch with the stranger in December was not so ironic after all.  Instead, it was pretty providential --- with the apparent anointing from God.  The Lord knew that we were fixing to walk through the stormiest financial period of our lives.  And He knew that if I tried to go through that on my own power, I'd fail and become very overwhelmed.  So in his perfect provision, God used this stranger to bring me the story that would help me find amazing peace in the midst of the (financial) storms.

The Lord's Prayer says, "Give us this day our daily bread ..."  I've come to understand that this is precisely what I can expect from God.

From the Top

In any organization, it's been said that the climate comes from the top. The people in the organization become become like their leaders. So there are some dynamics at play here that we all should take note of - whether we are leaders or not.

What kind of climate are you setting for your leaders? Think about the people who are leaders in your life. Parents, heads of households, bosses at work, church leaders, government leaders and others. Do you have expectations of them? Do you trust them? Consider how much what they do or say tends to set the tone for your mood.

I've noticed something about human relationships, and I think it especially applies to leadership. When other people disappoint, humiliate, hurt or threaten us - we feel empty. It's as though a vital part of ourselves has been stolen. When others break the trust we have placed in them - they also break our spirit. And they can do this even when they aren't aware that we've placed our trust in them.

Many years ago, we attended a church that was dynamic and growing. The pastor was charismatic, inspiring and he was a leader that everyone wanted to follow. The worship pastor was a gifted musician. He wore tight jeans and cowboy boots as he pounded the keys on the grand piano - it was a spectacular experience - every Sunday morning!

And then it happened. He committed suicide. Seems he'd been having an affair with a 15 year old girl and the police were closing in on him. He left a wife and family, a solid career and a thriving ministry. We were devastated.

About a year later, the senior pastor got caught having an affair. He was forced to resign in shame - his wife and family crying beside him. Were were devastated. More than that, we were lost. Our church seemed never to be the same again.

What had happened? Leadership had set the tone. We trusted the tone; we followed the leaders. And they disappointed. Our spirits were broken. Trust had been broken.

Bosses in the workplace can do this too. You follow them, you trust them. But they disappoint. It can be something as simple as them not delivering on a compensation promise, or even leaving to take another job elsewhere. Whatever you expected someone to do - he or she didn't do. Or whatever you hoped they would not do - they did.

It's been said that expectations we have of others are really just pre-meditated resentments or pre-planned disappointments. So the analogy is that we shouldn't have expectations of others. I don't really think that's possible though. After all, we're human. Expectations of leaders can't be helped.

So in any kind of organization, the climate comes from the top. What kind of climate are you setting with the people who follow you? Do you even know who those people are?

And if you're in the organization, doing some following of your own - what kind of trust are you placing (or misplacing)? How will you handle it if and when the sky falls? Will your spirit be broken ... or will it be strong enough to sustain the storm?