Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” (1 Kings 17:7-9 NIV)
Ever feel like the “brook dried up?”
Even worse, have you ever had the brook dry up and be told to go get help from someone that looks like they probably need help more than you do? Why does God do that? Why does God send some of us to receive from people who don’t have it to give? Why does God send people to us for help and command us to give to them when our own wallets are empty?
Our church is growing in most ways that people would notice: More people attending, more people deepening their commitment to God, more people seeing life change. But something’s up with the “brook.” Our finances have gone down at nearly the same rate that attendance has gone up. As the number of needs and people grow our wallets and resources have been depleted.
For a while I’ve been sitting by the brook wondering why it seems to be drying up. I’ve been asking God to get it going again. I’ve been wondering why God would send us here to deliver His Word and then not provide for us. I’ve been wondering why he would send needy souls to us for help and then not give us the resources to help them. It seems… cruel.
“We want to serve You. We want to help others. God give us the resources we need to do it!” I’ve cried out in prayer.
But the brook just keeps trickling by.
“Perhaps it’s us?” I wonder. “Perhaps, we’ve done something wrong or we’re not working hard enough?” I question.
I’ve sensed no reply until recently. But lately I’ve sensed that God may want to use another brook or another source to provide for us. I’ve been sitting by the brook not wanting to change, but God seems to be leading us to move out of what is comfortable and yet still be obedient as servants of His gospel.
Here are a few things I’m feeling led to do:
I’ve asked Robin to find other work. She’s been the church secretary for eight years, but the finances to pay her aren’t coming in right now. She has already found another job and will start working at a local veterinarian in June. She has loved working for the church, but we really need the income she makes and perhaps working somewhere else will open other doors we haven’t yet foreseen.
I’ve given Stephen the freedom to consider working somewhere else too. The money to pay him hasn’t been coming in of late either. Both he and I have been working without pay for several weeks. Stephen is putting out his resume as a percussion instructor and also looking for other work that wouldn’t prevent him from continuing to live out his passion for leading worship. I’m really proud of him. He is willing to sacrifice and work side jobs in order to have the resources to keep serving at WCC.
I’ve taken some side work too. As many of you already know, I have been working with the Innovative Church Community to help develop learning communities in North Carolina for pastors and ministry leaders. I’ve been under a short term contract with them for several months. This small income stream has been a real blessing. I’ve also been certified as a Christian life coach. I’m currently coaching several church planters that pay me an hourly fee. Plus, I’ve been trying to write more. I recently sold an article to Church Solutions Magazine.
Finally, I’ve decided to stop being too proud to ask for bread from the “widow.” It must have been hard for Elijah to take food from her. She didn’t have enough even for herself and her son. But Elijah believed God. He believed God enough to ask the widow to believe too. He told her to make a little cake for him first and then there would be enough for her and her son too. He told her that if she would give the first portion of whatever she had to God, that God would always meet her and her family’s needs.
Do you know what happened? God used a widow’s empty jar to feed the man of God and the widow’s family.
I’m going to change my view of our church as being made up of people who don’t have anything to give. I’m going to ask people to stop looking at their empty jars and start asking them to believe God. We shouldn’t even be looking to jars or brooks anyway. We should be looking to God.
So, we’re moving away from dependence on one little brook. God’s not the brook anyway. He is the water. He is the life. He is what we need. And He can use any brook or widow’s jar He chooses.
Besides, He loves making dried up things flow with life and empty things full.