In May 2014, we faced an unexpected and seemingly impossible challenge. The property we were renting as our ministry center in downtown San Francisco unexpectedly went up for sale.
In the face of a speculating developer, God called us to purchase our property in faith.
Our lease gave us a first right to purchase. We needed to raise $3.75 million quickly. We had 60 days. The challenge was big, but we knew God was bigger. What’s $3.75 million to God?
We shared our need and watched in amazement as God provided. When the deadline to purchase arrived, more than $1 million had been donated from across the globe.
But we still needed more.
We purchased the building, but we had to secure a mortgage.
Why didn’t God provide $3.75 million right away? Provision came, but not on our terms or how we expected it. Not how we wanted it.
We wanted God to provide the full amount right away, but God wanted to show us His provision daily.
When God chooses to provide in ways different from what we expect, trust becomes uncomfortable. And when we’re uncomfortable, it’s easy to go back and live from a place of not-enough and never-enough. It’s easy to live from a place of debt.
We’re learning God is calling us to live from a place of freedom even in the midst of a mortgage, of a debt, because He’s providing everything we need just when we need it.
God doesn’t always provide the way we expect Him to, but He always provides beyond our expectations.