Unexpected Sources of Help

I am amazed and yet not amazed at how God comes through. I am amazed because I never know how God will answer our prayers but I am not amazed that God does answer our prayers. I got word to day from my good friend, Pastor Mike Rose who pastors the Juneau Christina Center in our Captiol City. Two years ago they embarked upon a very ambitious vision to build a community youth center. Financially this was going to be and has been a stretch, yet they plunged into the project with everything they had. From personal experience, I know that every project has a low point, a place in the life of the project where all the tanks run dry it seems. Financial tank, emotional tank, energy tank, resource tank, etc. all seem to point to empty at the same time. It is at this point that doubts come in, fears can enter the heart and all your critics seem to have voices louder than those who believe in you. It can be a dark time for a leader, a time when all your friends seem to be somewhere else. It can be a dark time for a church when you wonder if the project will ever get completed and the financial strains will ever ease. A descriptive phrase about times like this, "not my favorite."

Well, Pastor Rose and JCC were at this low point of their project. It was stalled as they were out of cash and that is what was needed to order the last work to be done so they could open the doors. Lots of critics began to wag their tongues, there was no obvious place where help could be found. This past Sunday they made a presentation to their church about what was needed to open the doors and begin this new ministry. Not knowing what to expect they trusted God. There was no obvious sign that what they needed was on its way. If there is anywhere in Alaska that the recession we are experiencing nationally is affecting our state, it is our Capitol.

The outcome of this past Sunday? They received an offering of over $100,000 dollars! One hundred thousand of that offering came from one individual! Who would have known? Who could have predicted? The person who gave the large gift had never done so before. It was a truly unexpected source of help. Wow! Way to go, God!

The point of this? I am amazed at how God works. I am not amazed that He does what He does. That is good for you and I as well. At our low points we can believe for the unexpected. How God will do it, we may never know, that He will do it, we can expect.