“There Can Be Advance”

“The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!” (1 Thessalonians 5:24, Peterson)

Since the beginning of the year, sixteen new missionaries have taken up their assignments in Asia, Africa and Latin America. You met six of them in the March issue of the Newsletter; you will meet another ten this month. And still another ten hope to be on their way by the end of the year!

It would seem counterintuitive, in a way. Giving over the summer months flattens a little. Prayers, I think, tend to be fewer, as our praying friends take their holidays or go to the lake. Attendance at Prayer Meetings here in Minneapolis falls off a bit, too. It would seem a strange time to add a significant new burden to our General Fund. On the other hand, however, it is exactly the compelling and logical thing to do. The need for laborers remains acute, even over the summer. Now the doors are open; now the candidates are ready. And our Lord himself remains faithful!

From the very beginning, the World Mission Prayer League has refused to operate on the basis of pledges and budgets. Organizations write budgets, when you stop to think about it, in order to limit their possibilities. Budgets tell harried executives what they cannot do. Maybe there isn’t room in the budget for additional missionaries. They don’t go — and they don’t even have to think about it. But if we fuel our imaginations with the unlimited grace and wonderful provision of God Most High — well, that presents a differing scenario. Then we can step out in obedience to his calling. Then we can envision obedience — even if it doesn’t fit our plans, exactly, or our established budget. The “bottom line” has changed. We are no longer limited by our own strength or resources. We are children of the Glorious King. And we can trust him to provide — wherever we venture in response to his calling, throughout his wide domain.

“What happens when the Mission operates on this basis?” our Mission Handbook asks. And it answers: “There may often be shortage of funds, a scarcity of material supplies, with few possessions and no reserves. There may also be occasions for extreme sacrifice for the sake of the work and for fellow workers in the fellowship of the Mission. At the same time, when obedient faith acts on the promises of God, there can then be constant advance within the bounds of God’s will for worldwide missions. In such a life there will be rich opportunities to learn faith, patience, humility, love, obedience to the Holy Spirit and dependence on God” (see https://wmpl.org/handbook/finances/.)

Hudson Taylor once said: “The [one] who gets a hold of God’s faithfulness can dare to obey him, however unreasonable it may seem.” That is exactly right. If we believe in the promise of God’s provision, we will be ready to act on it — and if we are not, well, we have not yet ingested the concept.

I know sixteen new missionaries who are taking hold on the faithfulness of God this summer. Let’s “take hold” together — there is much adventuring to do.