The Showers Saga - 3 (originally posted Dec 16/07)

I did indeed pick up the keys to the ground-floor space below Carrall Street Church (331 Carrall St., Vancouver) yesterday (Saturday the 15th). The whole Story So Far is summed up in "The Shower Saga-1", below, but it's amazing to look at how this went from a "neat idea" to its current point. God has definitely been leading the way and propping us up where needed, and this morning, a piece of Scripture leapt out at me.

And when it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and by themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unti Him, We have here but five loaves and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me.
-- Matt. 14:15-18

When God tells you to do something, He doesn't tell you to afford it.

How many times have we heard a directive from God to do something, but we've shelved it because we didn't have the resources? Yet, that passage in Matthew tells us that, when Jesus gives us an assignment, we are to take what we do have and hand it over to Him. After all, what came next? Those five loaves and two fishes were converted into a meal for 5,000 men, plus women and children, with twelve baskets full of leftovers.

In fact, the very next thing that happened was that Jesus "gave thanks", and then started handing out the food.

Thanks for what? Not thanks for feeding everybody, because a specific prayer like that, I believe, ties God's hands to what we think we need; but thanks that God is in control and that, so long as we're obedient and walk in His ways, He will provide all our needs according to His riches in glory. And "thanks" before we see the manifestation, because in God's plan, it's already a done deal: we just have to put it in motivation with our faith.

So that's what we've been doing in getting the shower project off the ground. We took the resources we do have and gave them to Jesus; giving thanks that, if God has put this project on our hearts and given us the assignment to carry it out (Jesus, saying "Give ye them to eat"), then He will provide what we need.

One thing to remember here is that, when we take the resources we have and give them to Jesus, those are only the resources that we know about. Sometimes, we forget that in going to Jesus, we're exercising one of the most valuable resources we have: the Lord Himself.

So this is to encourage you that, when you hear from the Lord, or sense that He's put something on your heart to do, don't just blow it off as a "nice idea, but ...": press closer to Him and hand Him the resources you have ... give thanks ... and get ready to start serving the fish!