To Fundraise or Not?

A photo posted by Desiring God (@desiringgod) on Jun 23, 2016 at 10:47 MDT

Decisions

Whether or not to fundraise for my trip to Benin has been something at the back of my mind for a couple of weeks now.  I asked my mom and my pastor and some others for advice, and have been praying about what to do, but it wasn't until I woke up this afternoon (I'm working night shifts) that I knew what the answer was.

This photo and its article (found here) were sort of the "confirmation" (if that's what you want to call it) that I was doing the right thing.  Financing my trip has been something I thought about for a while.  It just didn't seem right for me to ask people for money, and I wasn't sure how to go about doing it.  However, several articles I read from Mercy Ships were pointing me in the direction of fundraising.  There are so many missionaries who fundraise/raise support, and I do not see anything wrong with them doing it.  In fact, if they were not out actively spreading the news about their work and what their needs are, I and others would not be aware and would not know to give to them or to pray for them.  There are a few practical reasons for raising funds.  It also can be quite a step of faith to put aside pride and ask people to prayerfully consider providing for what I do not have.

But...

It still seemed odd for me to ask for money from people.  I always feel strange asking for things and have for as long as I can remember.  I don't mind so much if someone wants to offer something, and I love to give when others have needs, but it is hard to ask for things myself.  I have wondered lately if my reluctance to ask for help is a pride issue, an that I am ashamed to let others know that I have needs and cannot do it all.  I prayed more about it, asking God to give me wisdom, because I don't want to be proud; in fact, this is something I struggle with and the Bible says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6b) and "For though the Lord is exalted, yet He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar" (Psalm 138:6).

Choices

Since I've been reading a bit about Hudson Taylor, who was a missionary to China, this quote and article I saw from Desiring God on Instagram was very timely.  Hudson Taylor and George Müller were two missionaries of many who did not request funds from people for their missionary ventures, but rather they sought God and solely waited upon Him to provide.  It became clear to me that this was what I needed to do.  The only thing with not telling people of my need, is it sort of seems like I'm not doing very much.  To me, prayer has often appeared to be "not doing much" and the lazy way out rather than digging in and investing time and energy into something.  

My views on prayer are ridiculous, however, and prayer is the best thing that I can do in any situation.  God hears our prayers and does what is best for us, because He is a good, wise, all-knowing Father (James 1:17).  I realized that it was not pride holding me back from asking for money (well, maybe I did struggle with being proud to some extent), but in this particular instance, the real reason that I felt unsettled about asking for money was because I needed to learn to rely on God to give what I need.  This was more humbling for me, because I tend to do better when I know I have extra money saved up in the bank.  But when God takes me down to very little or nothing, it makes me depend on Him more.  I can become very scared and overwhelmed when my finances are lacking, but I believe that God will provide and increase my faith in Him (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)!

There is a living God.  He has spoken in the Bible.  He means what He says and will do all that He has promised.  - Hudson Taylor, missionary to China