Camel-Riding Marauders

So I've been dealing with the red-tape issues of going to Kosovo for a couple weeks now. I'll think I'm done with the application process and then it turns out that there is something else I have to do. Most of this has been totally my fault, since I read the e-mail about the application process so fast that I missed some of it. I've lost nearly two weeks of support-raising time over this issue. Last night, and poor Trent can vouch for this, I just lost it on the phone after receiving another e-mail about something missing from my application.

God and I kind of have this thing where he communicates with me by communicating with my heart. Like, I'll be sitting in the Overall Company doing homework or fighting to get Newbert to connect to the internet or doing something else totally mundane, when BAM! My heart gets hit with a secret message from God and I feel led to do something. Rarely does the God Voice appear in my head and tell me what to do.

Last night after Trent and I hung up I was just laying in bed (maybe still crying a little bit) stressed beyond belief about how I have to raise $9,500 before the middle of January when I don't even have a support account set up yet and I don't have a commitment of support from anyone but the missions money I keep hidden in a Fresca bottle.

Suddenly, I thought of the story in Judges 7 about Gideon and the Midianites. Actually, at first I thought of the story about the guys who lapped water like dogs and defeated a huge army with only 300 men, and then I Googled it because I couldn't remember quite where it was. I haven't thought of this story in years--have only heard it once or twice, maybe--but I am so certain that me thinking about Gideon and the Midianites last night was entirely caused by God.

Here is Judges 7:1-7 in case you are unfamiliar with it.

"Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord said to Gideon, 'You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. 

"But the Lord said to Gideon, 'There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go.'

"So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, 'Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.' Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 

"The Lord said to Gideon, 'With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place.' So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of others." 

Okay. Let's be honest for a second. How in the world can anyone whose army has just been reduced from 32,000 to 300 expect to win a war against a band of evil camel-riding marauders?

The thing is that they can't. God cut Gideon's army to just a tiny fraction of what it had been (I mean seriously, who laps water like a dog?) SO THAT ISRAEL COULD NOT BOAST THAT HER OWN STRENGTH HAD SAVED HER.

Last night as I was freaking out about how in the world I was going to raise $9,500 in just a month and a half, I felt so reassured as I recalled this story. And more than that, I felt God speaking to me, loudly, saying, "I am giving you only a month and a half SO THAT YOU KNOW WHO THIS MONEY IS COMING FROM."

Is it terrifying? Yes. But it was probably also terrifying for Gideon to lead 300 men into war with a group of camel-riding sword-swinging marauders. The thing is that Gideon trusted God to lead him out of the fray again with all 300 men and several thousand newly acquired camels. In fact, that is what happened--Gideon and his army didn't even fight! They shouted, they blew trumpets and they broke jars, and the Midianites went crazy and attacked each other. This is just further confirmation of the words of Exodus 14:14--The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. 

God kept asking me last night, over and over, "Do you trust me? Do you believe that I can and will provide you with $9,500 in a month and a half? Do you trust me to give you exactly what you need, exactly when you need it? Or will you continue to panic about raising support, using the only human defense mechanism you know how to use?"

Guys, it is SO HARD not to panic about where in the world I am going to get this money before January. It really is. (Trent can vouch for that too--we've had long, long discussions about the contents of my poor Fresca bottle). But God has given me every reason to trust him, and to believe that he WILL provide this money when I need it. That being said, I believe that lots of prayer is required!

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still!