Who raises your support?

Who defeated Goliath?

Then David said to [Goliath], "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head." (1 Samuel 17:45-46a ESV)

Who sold Joseph into slavery?

Joseph said to [his brothers], "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." (Genesis 50:19-20 ESV)

Who killed Jesus?

"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know - this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men." (Acts 2:22-23 ESV)

Who is responsible for your sanctification?

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13 ESV)

Who raises your support?

God has already planned it

When Adam and Eve brought onto themselves the curses of sin at Eden, God had already planned that the woman's seed would crush the head of the serpent. (Genesis 3:15)

When Joseph's brothers delivered him into slavery in Egypt, God had already planned that he would save countless lives through the great famine. (Genesis 50:20)

When Israel found themselves trapped by the Egyptians with their back to the Red Sea, God had already planned a miracle He'd refer back to all throughout the Bible. (Exodus 14:13)

When Saul disqualified himself from kingship at Gilgal, God had already planned to anoint a greater king after His own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14)

When Naomi was left without a husband or sons, God had already planned that the Messiah would come through her family. (Ruth 4:17)

When Lazarus grew ill and died, God had already planned that His disciples would believe in Him as a result. (John 11:14)

When Jesus was taken prisoner and sentenced to crucifixion, God had already planned to bring about the salvation of mankind. (Acts 2:23)

When Jesus departed this world and left His frightened disciples behind, He had already planned that the gospel would penetrate to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

When a murderer was on his way to claim the life of more Christians, God had already planned to bring salvation to the Gentiles through him. (Acts 9:15)

When you were still in the grasp of the devil, God had already planned good works for you to accomplish. (Ephesians 2:10)

When all the armies of the earth gather together to finally destroy Christianity, God has already planned to demonstrate His sovereignty with absolute victory. (Revelation 20:9)

Perhaps you are feeling like your fundraising (or life!) isn't going according to your plan right now. If so, don't worry...

God has already planned something glorious to come from it.

Is life passing you by?

Facebook should be renamed to LifeIsPassingMeByBook.

If you're like me, you feel Facebook endlessly beckoning you to scroll down your news feed. You see lots of happy people sharing pictures and stories of their epic adventures in life. As you scroll, you become increasingly aware that you're not in those pictures and that your stories don't seem quite so fun as theirs.

This feeling is amplified when doing fundraising.

The reason you're fundraising is because you signed up for an epic adventure from the Lord. You're going to be doing exciting work that will impact both this world and the next! Still, that's not how your time of fundraising feels. Fundraising involves a lot of waiting. It involves a lot of rejection. It involves diligently planning, calling, writing and waiting again. So when you turn to Facebook's News Feed of Despair, it won't be long before you're feeling like life is passing you by.

Is it?

"Is life passing me by?" is actually the wrong question. The assumes that life is some force with a will that's trying to get one up on you. The Scriptures paint a different picture, however.  The Scriptures tell us that there's a sovereign God who is actively and lovingly moving the world along its course (Romans 8:28, Acts 17:26-27). God doesn't feel any pressure to move life along any faster or slower than fits His purposes:

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9 ESV)

That passage is speaking of salvation and perishing, so how much more should we trust God in matters of money and fundraising appointments?

God prepared Joseph to save the world by having him spend much of his young life in slavery and in prison. God prepared Moses to lead a nation by having him spend the better part of his life tending sheep on the backside of a mountain. God spent around 40,000,000 man years of time by having Israel wander in the desert before reaching the promised land, all so that we today might have an example to learn from (1 Cor 10:1-11).

Do not think life is cruelly passing you by; rather, know that God is actively and lovingly preparing you for the exact work He has in store. You will be done with fundraising not a moment before or after He decides.

In the meantime, don't go comparing yourself with others on Facebook or otherwise. In the fullness of time, Jesus came into this world, died for you, saved you, commissioned you and sent you. The most epic news feed in the world could not compare with that.