Testimony Tuesday - Pressing on Towards the Goal

My husband and I are on staff with a non-profit ministry, which means we’re responsible for raising our own financial support team. We also can’t report to our ministry assignment until we’re fully funded. 

No big deal—I thought we would crush it in six months or less and get back to our lives.

Well, here we are over a year and a half later and we still haven’t “crushed it”.
Sometimes it feels like it’s crushed us.

As newlyweds, we’ve had to sacrifice having our own place and having the freedom in that to learn how to be a married couple. Continually traveling for our job, we found ourselves always being a guest in someone else’s home—for days, weeks, months at a time—sleeping wherever people would let us, from an air mattress or a couch in someone’s living room to a whole guest suite in someone’s basement. In either case, it’s hard to explore the ins and outs of marriage and intentionally pour into it when we’re trying to be respectful of someone else’s space. Our marriage struggled because of it.
 
Add that to financial problems, and believe me we’ve had many. Where were we supposed to find the privacy and space to talk through and figure out how to manage our finances as a married couple? There were many times our bills (forget about normal expenses like groceries and gas) far exceeded our income. [Spoiler alert: God provided!] It was stressful to say the least. I could be working a “normal” job and maybe not be in this situation.

We also found that some of the community around us who we hoped would encourage us were actually the ones who discouraged us the most. Instead of pushing us forward towards our goal, they suggested that full-time ministry was pre-mature for us. Ouch! 

But still we press forward. Why? Because this is what God has called us to. These struggles won’t last forever. They’re temporary, but necessary steps as we’re obedient to the Lord. It’s so helpful to have that perspective—it’s a game changer.

Sometimes, it is only our confidence in this calling that keeps us pressing forward. If we weren’t confident, several people would have talked us out of it by now. But God is good and He’s brought people into our lives who have encouraged us and poured life into us when we needed it most.

The value of friends that stick with us and lift us up in times of need far exceeds any earthly treasure. They’ve rejoiced with us in our blessings, and they’ve cried out for us in our hurts. They encourage us daily and remind us of God’s amazing plan and provision. How could we not press on with such an amazing community cheering us on?

Resting in who God is and His character also helps in times of struggle and enduring.

There’s this amazing story in Ezra about the Israelites rebuilding the temple for the Lord. This is no small thing. It’s extravagant with gold and silver and lots of detail. Where did they get all these resources to build it? In Ezra 6 the King of Persia issued a decree that the costs were to be paid by the royal treasury!
 
Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let is foundations be laid…The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God. Ezra 6:3-5 

Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” That means the same God who provided for the Israelites to rebuild His temple is the same God who not only provides our financial support, but for all my needs. And He has! And He is still providing! That’s amazing! That’s worth enduring for.

Even though we’re not finished yet, encouraging community, God’s unchanging character, and His Word has kept us going and continues to do so.