1. Lack of financial provision/resources.
2. Lack of adequate experience/professional development.
3. Lack of strength/stamina needed to serve with excellence. 
4. Lack of [insert something else here because the list goes on....]

A few of my close friends have recently expressed their concern with what is lacking in my life. Since the semester ended, I have been working on raising support to spend another year doing campus ministry. And I have to admit, with a little over one third of my budget raised and my two month departure from the States just a week away, I was a little concerned too. 

I hit a point last week when I just needed to pause what I was doing and start seeking God more intently. I realized that I was strategically thinking about how to overcome what is seemingly lacking instead of trusting God to guide me to what He has promised me: another year investing in the lives of college students at my alma mater.

I set aside two days to do nothing but pray, process and seek God's guidance. During that time, one of my Facebook friends posted this excerpt from a sermon by Francis Chan.


I went on to listen to both sermons in this series called "Fearless".  Wow, two hours of straight truth. If you want a challenge and encouragement, listen to these messages. His major point is derived from Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack not, and I will not fear because God is with me.

Any concern I have about what I seemingly lack shows a distrust in God and His ability to shepherd. As I confront the reality that I have spent the last few weeks living from a place of fear, I am humbly reminded of one of my favorite scriptures:

"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." - Luke 12:32

 (I am also reminded of that scene in Donnie Darko where the gym teacher is talking about the lifeline of fear versus love, and then I laugh at myself and move forward...)

Any way you look at it, were are not supposed to live out of a place of fear regarding what we lack because everything we need has already been provided by a loving God.

" For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:17

Hmm,  maybe that crazy teacher in the film did have something right: an understanding of Love is the opposite of a life of fear  (1 John 4:18). [Though, reverence and fear of God are the beginning of wisdom.. but holy fear is another topic all together.]  I'm grateful for the reminder that the Lord is my shepherd, He will never leave me, and because of His love...

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD. Forever." Psalm 23:6

Now back to regularly scheduled programming- another week of support raising. I trust that God will be with me and everything will work out one way or another. In the meanwhile, I am adopting one of our church's core values -that someone kindly reminded me of recently- as a personal support raising mantra.

"Work like it depends on you, pray like it depends on God." -  Pastor Mark Batterson.