‘Seek first the kingdom’ is such a simple command, and yet for us fragile humans it really can be just so hard! Especially when it comes to our money.
In February 2018, I was in the Isle of Man and the UK, and whilst there I (and some of the other leaders) felt it was very important for my wife to join me on my next trip to the Isle of Man in June, which would be the Four12 Conference there. By default, however, this would mean my eldest son (we have four children), who is a type 1 diabetic, would also need to come with us, due to the nature of his medical care. It meant that out family would need to trust God for finances once again and, coincidentally, this ‘trusting’ would come at the exact same time that we as a church (Joshua Generation Church) would be aiming high in faith for financial provision for a few new massive building projects!
God then spoke to us clearly through a vision from a friend.
The morning after booking our travel tickets, the feeling of ‘What are we doing spending all our money like this?’ hit me. It felt so unwise for all three of us to go overseas right then, even though I knew the theory and importance of ‘going to the nations’ so well! Thankfully, God then spoke to us clearly through a vision from a friend. In her voice note, she explained that she clearly saw my son in the nations (outside of our home) serving Jesus, and she really felt that God was saying that our son needs to start travelling! Wow, we were so encouraged and filled with fresh faith.
After making our building fund contributions for the building projects, we felt excited about our upcoming trip, but honestly still very nervous about our finances. I wish I could say the prayers we prayed were powerful, mountain-moving prayers, but they were more like, ‘God we just want to be able to see you as a good, providing Father again! Help us in this, please.’
Two days later…someone anonymously paid the exact amount we had paid for our tickets into our bank account.
Two days later, and three days before leaving for the conference, someone anonymously paid the exact amount we had paid for our tickets into our bank account. Literally the amount I had quietly revealed to my wife when I said, ‘This trip is costing us (X) thousand Rand.’
On top of all this provision by our good, providing Father, various very real needs we had were all taken care of, literally on the same day. Sometimes God just makes these clear statements to us as His children, ‘I have got you covered – it’s worth it to seek My kingdom first. Yes, the sowing needs to come first, but trust Me – I’ve got you!’
What is holding you back from stepping out and joining a Four12 Outreach, International Conference or Regional Equip? Don’t let the hesitancy to ‘sow first’ rob you of an opportunity to see our God as the One who has you covered!
