Not My Burden

It’s Not My Burden! I’ve been resting in God’s peace by saying this quite a bit this week. This week has been an unusually difficult one for me. Our Una Esperanza ministry center in Juarez, Mexico has been closed for just over a week now because we ran out of money. It costs us about $200 per day to operate the ministry center and for the first time in quite a long while, we’ve had to close the center.

Traditionally, we see a dramatic drop in giving right after the holidays each year, and this year it’s even lower than in previous years. God has been incredibly faithful in providing for this ministry for over five years now, but when we’re forced to close the center because funds are low, I tend to try to fix things through my own strength.

We firmly believe that Kingdom Flight is called to be different than other ministries when it comes to fundraising. Our fundraising methods are spelled out in detail on our website under the “About Us” section, so I won’t spend time on the details here, but in a nutshell, we do the majority of our fundraising through prayer alone.

We take Mathew 6:33 literally. We believe that Kingdom Flight belongs to God and that He will guide and provide all that we need if we “seek first His kingdom”. His word says so, doesn't it? Or does this mean that we should seek His will and His kingdom first and then add our own ideas (or fundraising efforts) to the mix? Most ministries nowadays spend a great deal of time focusing on fundraising methods, and there’s nothing really wrong with this at all. However, we firmly believe that God has called us to fundraise primarily through prayer alone, and this is what we do.

In my human reasoning, I often do not understand God’s plans or why He would ever allow our funds to get so precariously low that we have to close the ministry center. Doesn’t He want us to continue reaching these precious children? Doesn’t He ultimately want to us to take the gospel to the estimated 70,000 and virtually unreached Tarahumara Indians living in the mountains some 250 miles further south? I believe that He absolutely does! Then if so, why does money run low from time to time? Why after our recent spiritual breakthrough with the Tarahumara children of Kilometer 33 are we suddenly brought to a screeching halt?

I tend to take these financial burdens on myself, and if Una Esperanza is closed, I question whether it’s because I’m failing to do something I should be doing to make sure that we have the money to continue. I’ve concluded that this might be true if we were called to operated like most other ministries. What God has taught me this week is that I have played very little part in raising any of the money He has ever provided for Kingdom Flight to date. We funded this ministry through my construction business initially, but over three years ago the demands of Kingdom Flight became so great that I had to close the construction business altogether and devote myself to the ministry full-time. Lesli joined me in full-time ministry in October of 2006, and we’ve been totally dependent on God’s provision for us and Kingdom Flight ever since!

This week God has taught me that He will meet all of our needs in His timing, not mine. He may not necessarily meet all of our wants, but He will meet all of our needs. This even applies to Una Esperanza being open. Una Esperanza is His, and if He wants it open, it will be and I have to trust Him on this. I’ve also learned that we’re right where He wants us right now and that I do not have to carry this burden myself - it’s His!

Matthew 11:29-30 says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

This week I’m doing my best to carry His yoke and I’m also doing my best to separate His burdens from my burdens. Are you carrying any burdens this week that belong to God? If so, may I encourage you to take His yoke upon you and lay your burdens at His feet? He is faithful, and it’s wonderful to find rest for your soul, even when things don't necessarily make sense.