I have talked to a lot of people and Churches about the concept for Needs Met.
What I hear all the time are things like;
"Why dont you have a more clear vision?"
"Why dont you have all the details worked out?"
"Where will you get financing from?"
"Where will you get donations?"
"Where will you get a facility?"
"What kind of criteria will you have to determine who gets served and who does not and on and on."
This really bothers me. I have perfectionist tendencies. I love it when things are all worked out. All the I's are doted and the T's crossed.
I love it when I have a solid plan. Nothing left to chance! This really appeals to my humanity.
But is this really the way that God wants us to do things?
If we look at the Bible for examples of how God worked with other people, we can find lots of them.
Lets look at Moses? When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, he did not give Moses a well laid out plan for how to deal with Pharaoh.
God told Moses to go down to Egypt and get his people out of there. Moses tried to press God for a few details.
God gave Moses a little more, but not much. God told Moses that he would bring them to a place flowing with Milk & Honey. He also told Moses that he would stretch out his hand and strike Egypt.
What! No details God? Whats up with that?
God told Moses that if would have to speak to Pharaoh and tell him to let his people go.
Moses complained to God that he was not a good speaker. This was not a good idea!
God got angry at Moses.
Can you imagine what would have happened if Moses would have asked God for a mission statement, or a game plan of exactly how God intended to convince Pharaoh to let the Israeites go?
Not to mention to huge tasks of getting all those Israelite's (Estimates of the total # are around 3 million) through the desert with very little water and food.
Then Moses needed a plan of what to do when they got to this land flowing with Milk and Honey. They would need a government, money to buy things, building materials to build houses, food and water, etc...
It was a monumental task that God was asking Moses to do. But God was being very vague with it.
God intentionally held back from Moses. Moses just didnt need to be burdened with all the details.
I think that if Moses would have known all that he was getting himself into, he would have never agreed to it. I think he would have collapsed out of fear and doubt!
And Moses is just one of many many examples just like this.
Every single time throughout the entire Bible, when God asked someone to do something, he offered very little to nothing as to details on what the task involved.
So why is it that we think that we need to know everything down to the smallest detail in order to do anything for God?
Today, most Churches have highly structured services. Even down to the second in some cases!
Worship, especially in larger Churches, is practiced and rehearsed over and over so that there is no room for mistakes.
Anyone wanting to put together a mission, group, or organization must know all the details of how everything will work, where donations will come from, what expenses will arise, and on and on.
I believe that in striving for perfection, we have left God out.
I was in a missions organization called Youth With A Mission for several years.
We performed mime dramas all over the world. I remember on some occasions, we would do our best to practice and get our performance just as perfect as we could.
This seemed right to us. We wanted to give people the best performance that we could. We thought that if we did a really good job, that people would be stirred to come up front for prayer and some would get saved.
Then there were other times that we just could not practice. We were busy traveling and doing things and just didnt find time. We thought that those would be the performances that would not see many come up for prayer.
What we found was just the opposite of what we expected. When our performance was well rehearsed and perfect, very few came forward.
When we had little, or no time, to rehearse and our performance was bad, lots of people came and got saved. This baffled us.
You see, God is not interested in our perfection. In fact, he cant work with it at all.
When we are trying to be perfect, and have all the little details worked out, there is little to no room for God to work.
We can read about this concept in God's word.
For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you.
2 Corinthians 13:4
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness...
Romans 8:26
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:10
We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection.
2 Corinthians 13:9
There are many more scriptures on this, but I think you get the idea here.
We are not to try to be perfect and have it all together. We are to be weak so that God can be strong and perfect.
Its in that very time when you dont have it all together that you leave room for God and he will show up.
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