I spent a little time this morning in Bubuieci, a good-sized village near Chisinau. I went there to shoot a quick video to send back to Neighborhood Assembly, helping them promote a team for this summer. With the economic situation in the US, it seems that many churches will not be coming this year, or will be greatly reduced in numbers. The church there is in the middle of construction, and our goal is to build both the church and the building.
Pastor Sasha and I were talking, working through the steps for building. We need about $1000-2000 to get the foundation finished, with all the backfill done. We've had to haul loads of backfill in, and still need about 50 more loads to get it done.
Yet when we talked, I realized that $1000-2000 is a big challenge to Sasha. Where can we find that kind of money? To many people, $2000 would be s simple check to write, but to us, it is huge. I suppose, it would be the equivalent of saying in the US, "We simply need $60,000 to get through this next step." That seems big to me.
But what defines a challenge? It really isn't the dollar amount. It isn't the size of the problem. It isn't the impossibility of the task.
What defines the severity of a challenge is our abilities and resources. If we have nothing, $5 would be a challenge. If we have never built a thing, holding a hammer and driving a nail would be tough. If we have never believed for anything, the smallest act of faith would be enormous.
$1000 might not look like an impossibility to me, but there are many situations where I face challenges. How can we get the resources to build our youth camp? How can I minister so Oxana sees the need to stay at the Home of Hope? How can I preach in Russian where the message stays clear?
The key is not the size of the challenge or the smallness of my resources, but the ability of my God to make up the difference.
I face many challenges and needs. But I know that nothing is too difficult of Him.
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