One of the highlights of over a decade and a half of ministry has been receiving emails just like this one over the past two weeks from people who stepped out in faith during Faith, Hope and Love.
I introduced you to Christina last week. Today, I want you to meet Josh. His faith and God’s faithfulness are intersecting in a new way!
Pete,
So I want to start off by saying thanks. Thank you for providing opportunities to trust, step out, and embrace faith. Although this isn’t the first time I’ve experienced God come through for me when I’ve stepped out, I just had to share this with you.
Throughout the whole series of Faith, Hope, and Love I was conflicted. I absolutely love Cross Point and it’s vision, and enjoy being part of a family that is relentlessly dedicated, but I was so unsure of how I could help. I’m not in the best of financial shape and have been working so hard this past year to get into better shape financially. I was going back and forth about how much I could commit to our cause and still be in shape to pay bills. After a lot of thought, I approached my commitment from a common sense and financial standpoint. Although I couldn’t really afford any pledge (budget wise) I had decided I would give $50 a month. I know it’s not alot, but I felt confident that I could cut out an extra dinner, or sacrifice a bit and still be able to budget the $50/mo. Sitting in the last week of the series, I felt compelled to trust and do more than I actually thought I could just afford.
Giving based on what I could reasonably afford really required no faith, just a bit of sacrifice. I decided to give $2000 through the course of the year. I had no idea how it would even be possible, I just knew that once I committed to it and made it a priority to trust, it would work out. Later that night and for the whole next 2 days I was completely stressed and worried that my heart had stepped a bit to far out on a limb and had no idea where I was going to pull $170 every month from.
3 days later, on Wednesday, I get pulled into my office at work and my boss let’s me know that although I’ve already received 3 raises this past year, he was excited about how well I was doing and said he was upping my pay another $1/hr. I was speechless. I certainly wasn’t expecting a pay increase for at least another year. $1/hr equals $2080 a year, just over my pledge. I left the office last Wed, high as a kite.
It’s so funny that every time in my life that I’ve stepped out on nothing more than hope and faith, God has ALWAYS come through. I shouldn’t be surprised, as it’s not the first time I have experienced it, but it never fails to amaze me. Now I know $2000 is still nothing extravagant, but to me, it was a pretty big deal. I’m so blessed to have a family at Crosspoint that pushes me to change my patterns, thinking habits, and really encourages you to step out on faith. I’m so excited that my initial pledge is now taken care of and I’m searching for ways that I can double my commitment. Thanks for sharing your vision and thanks for placing me in a spot where I truly reflect and search deeper in my faith than I ever have before.
I love this story. But probably not for the reason you think. Don’t miss the main point. The main point is not that he stepped out in faith and committed $2,000 and 3 days later got at $2,000 raise. In fact, I believe he may have received that raise even if he hadn’t made the financial commitment he made.
What I do know is this. If Josh hadn’t stepped out in faith and trusted God in the midst of his fear at best he would have received just another dollar an hour raise. Instead he just had an unforgettable encounter with the God of the universe. He went home that day with a new level of trust and intimacy with his Heavenly Father. He walked away knowing his story was taking place inside of a much larger story. One we all long to have a role in.